That Warm Night in Paris
by intense-tardis-noise
Summary: After the battle with the Evillustrator, Adrien Agreste finally realizes just how much trouble he is in. He's sworn his heart and soul to Ladybug, but he becomes increasingly more fond of Marinette Dupain-Cheng as time goes on. At the same time, Marinette realizes that she might be falling for her partner in crime-fighting against her better judgement. What will become of them?
1. Chapter 1

Adrien realized just how deep in trouble he was, when he was fighting the Evillustrator. He realized that he was in love with two magnificent women. He loved his lady; his fierce partner, and Paris' other favorite super hero, the Miraculous Ladybug. However, he was also in love with his beloved princess; the shy, gentle, compassionate baker's daughter, his classmate with the fierce eye for fashion design and doing what's right that turned into a small, delicate flower who could barely manage sentences around his secret identity, his lovely Marinette.

He, at the time Chat Noir, was trapped in a glass box, watching the Evillustrator as he cornered Marinette, his pad and pen in hand. Chat Noir beat helplessly on his glass prison, shouting Marinette's name, and shouting for the Evillustrator to come after him instead; he was the only one who could really stop him, so why keep him around? It was all to no avail; the Evillustrator paid no mind to Chat Noir; instead, he eyed Marinette hungrily. If he so much as laid one finger on a single delicate hair on Marinette's head, he was going to be dead. Chat Noir didn't care who it really was under the akuma, they would be dead for wanting to hurt his Marinette.

"My darling..." the Evillustrator said threateningly. "You have betrayed my love, and for that the price will be great indeed… I don't see why I should make only Chloe pay the price, when your heart is just as cruel as hers."

Marinette pushed back against the Evillustrator, confidence filling her features, but only for a moment. "I am nothing like Chloe! I am trying to keep you from hurting others! You manipulate me by saying you won't hurt anyone as long as I am dating you, and you say that _I_ am the one treating others wrongly!"

The Evillustrator shoved Marinette back against the wall with a hard thud; Chat Noir heard Marinette cry out in pain, and it killed him. He had to find a way out of this damn box; he couldn't let his princess be hurt by this monster. He shot up glances every once in a while to see the Evillustrator continuing to knock Marinette around. He could see tears falling from her eyes, despite her efforts to stay strong.

 _Just hold on Marinette..._ Chat thought to himself. _I'm coming to save you._

Chat Noir tried many ways to shatter the glass or break out of it somehow, and all of them failed. Marinette's struggling was becoming weaker; she was being severely injured. Chat Noir took his gaze away, focusing on what he had to do.

He shouldn't have looked that final time, because he was definitely going to be killing this villain as soon as he got out of that box; the Evillustrator's filthy lips invaded Marinette's. He shoved her up against the wall; no matter how much Marinette struggled, she couldn't get him off. He was too strong, and she was in too much pain to be able to properly fight back. And the more she tried to fight, the rougher the Evillustrator was with her. He continuously shoved her into the wall, her backside scraping across the bricks, leaving her covered in scratches and bruises. His body burning with anger, he squeezed his hand tightly around his baton in his hand, pressing the button by accident. The baton extended upward, lifting the glass box up and off of him. He let the baton tip sideways, and the box shattered on the concrete a few feet away from him. The Evillustrator turned to see Chat Noir running towards him, baton back to its original size. Marinette took the opportunity to shove the Evillustrator away from her, which threw him off balance, and knocked his pen and pad out of his hands. Chat Noir pounced on the Evillustrator, holding him down.

"Marinette, run! Get as far away as you can!" Chat shouted at her, desperate to get her to safety.

Marinette stood still for a moment, not saying anything. She'd never seen Chat Noir look so angry before. It was a little terrifying. She didn't linger for long though, because she had to transform into Ladybug so she could break the Evillustrator's pen and destroy the akuma.

"Please, Marinette! Go!"

Without any more hesitation, Marinette turned and ran; she stopped to pick up the pen, so Chat should hopefully have an easier time holding the Evillustrator down. Once Marinette had rounded the corner, she popped her purse open, and her kwami, Tikki, flew out.

"Tikki, quick! Spots on!"

Within seconds, Marinette became Ladybug. She ran back around the corner to find Chat Noir struggling to keep the Evillustrator down. Without a moment to spare, Ladybug snapped the Evillustrator's pen in her fingers, and dropped it to the ground. The akuma fled from the pen, and she captured it in her yoyo, cleansing it. Then, Ladybug's erasing light flashed through the town, erasing all of the damage done by the Evillustrator. A dazed Nathanael was left sitting on the ground, rubbing his head. Ladybug picked up the notepad and pen, and handed them back to Nathanael, and helped him stand.

"Are you okay?" Ladybug asked gently. Nathanael nodded his head. He looked up, eyes growing wide.

"Wow, Ladybug? You saved me?" he asked excitedly.

Ladybug gave a small laugh. After hearing a displeased scoff from Chat, she said "Not this time. It was all thanks to Chat Noir. All I did was cleanse the akuma this time around."

Nathanael gave a weak laugh in Chat's direction, earning a growl from him. Nathanael looked down at his watch, and saw that it was getting late.

"Thank you Ladybug. Thank you Chat Noir."

With that, he took off in the direction of what must be his home.

Ladybug turned to face Chat Noir who only stared angrily after Nathanael.

"Chat, are you alright?" Ladybug asked. Chat Noir turned to her and saw that her face was full of concern.

"When he was akumatized, he hurt one of my friends really badly..."

Ladybug was proud of how clueless she acted. "Oh no, Chat," Ladybug said softly, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Why couldn't you be here to help?!" Chat suddenly snapped, causing Ladybug to flinch. Chat immediately dialed down his anger. He knew it wasn't her fault. He turned away and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I know you had something important to do... I just, if you'd been here... Marinette wouldn't have gotten hurt so badly..."

Chat stopped for a moment. He noticed that Ladybug was breathing heavily, and, though he could tell she was trying to hide it, her face showed that she was in a good amount of pain.

"Are you okay, Ladybug?" Chat asked, his voice concerned.

"Me? Oh yeah, no worries. Just got a little more beat up on my own. But don't worry, kitty; I handled myself pretty well. I think you would have been proud. And Marinette; she's a tough girl. You don't need to worry about her." Ladybug said, trying to help Chat feel better. She thought she'd seen at least a small smile. She knew she had assured him that Ladybug was fine, but she wasn't so sure about Marinette.

"You know her?" Chat Noir asked.

"Yeah, we go way back. She's always been pretty soft-spoken, but she can take a few hits. You don't need to be so worried."

"I can't help it..." Chat Noir said, whatever smile he showed disappearing now. Ladybug didn't know what to do; but then she did.

"If you're so worried, why don't you go check on her?"

"Am I... allowed to do that?"

"Oh, sure!" Ladybug said happily. "Just tell her that Ladybug sent you, and it'll be fine. On the roof of the bakery, there is a deck with a trapdoor that leads to her bedroom. Just be careful, it can be kind of hard to find your footing."

Ladybug's earrings beeped their first warning, which meant that she would be detransforming soon. She placed her hand on Chat's shoulder again.

"I hope you feel better, Chat Noir. I have to get going, my transformation is going to be wearing off. I hope Marinette feels better too!"

With that, Ladybug threw her yo-yo in the direction of her home and sped off. Chat Noir's eyes followed her until she was out of sight, and he could tell that she was in a lot pain. Her movements were slower and more careful. But she was too far for him to properly ask her if she was really okay. So, he started in the direction of Paris' most famous bakery. But, he detransformed first and gave Plagg, his kwami, some camembert cheese to snack on while he walked. If he transformed right as he got to Marinette's, he'd have more time to stay with her. It was rather late in the evening, so he wasn't too especially worried about being recognized.


	2. Chapter 2

Marinette stood by her open window, gazing up at the night sky that had finally stretched over Paris. Her mind wandered over to the day's events. She had just finished attending to her wounds and her thoughts wandered to where they usually did: Adrien. She always felt so confident when she was Ladybug. She felt like she could do anything. But when she was Marinette, she could hardly look in Adrien's direction without blushing furiously.

 _If only I could have that kind of confidence around Adrien..._ she thought. Just then, there was a loud thud, like something had just fallen in from her trapdoor. A very _large_ something. She turned to see Chat Noir on her floor, grimacing in what she imagined to be slight pain. She squeaked in surprise, and fell back against her dresser, unsure of what to do. Surely her parents had heard that noise, and they would probably come upstairs to check on her any second. She jumped over to Chat Noir and knelt beside him.

"Chat Noir... are you okay?"

She was met with those familiar, fierce green eyes.

"Ah, hello my princess."

"What on Earth are you doing here? And why did you have to come in with such a loud thud? I'm sure my parents heard you!"

Just then there was a knock on Marinette's door.

"Marinette? What was that noise? Are you alright?"

"I'm okay, mom! Just tripped on something. I'm okay!"

"Are you sure?" Marinette heard her doorknob turning; she motioned for Chat to hide so he wouldn't be seen. After a brief panic, he dove into Marinette's closet. Marinette's mother opened her door and Marinette was sat on her bed, smiling sheepishly. `

"Your room is spotless, Marinette, what on Earth did you trip over that had you fall so hard?" her mother asked, concerned.

"Oh, you know, clumsy old me. I'm okay, mama. I promise." Marinette jumped up and crossed her room so she could hug and kiss her mother goodnight. "Tell papa I said goodnight, too."

Her mother still wore concern on her face, but she didn't press any further. "Be more careful, Marinette. I love you, have a good night."

"Goodnight, mama,"

Her mother smiled and left, closing Marinette's door gently behind her. Marinette turned to see Chat Noir slowly peeking out of her closet, smiling sheepishly at her.

"Promise I'll be more careful next time, Princess."

Marinette only let out a sigh. "So, why are you here, silly kitty?" Marinette asked, sitting down on her bed, and patting the space in front of her, inviting Chat to sit with her. He did so immediately.

"I came, under the jurisdiction of Ladybug, to make sure that the Evillustrator didn't injure you too severely," Chat Noir stated. His tone became much more serious very quickly. "I saw him slam you against the wall... I wanted to kill him."

'So that's why he was looking at Nathanael so angrily the entire time,' Marinette thought to herself.

Marinette laughed softly.

"I'm okay, Chat. You don't have to worry. The worst thing may be a bruise or two on my side, but that's all. Nothing serious."

Chat Noir didn't look satisfied. "He slammed you against the wall very hard... are you sure nothing is broken?"

Marinette let out an exasperated sigh. "Would you like to check me over for injuries, mother?" she asked sarcastically. Her playful demeanor changed when she saw that Chat was still being very serious.

"Would checking for yourself make you stop being such a grumpy kitty?" Marinette asked softly.

"Are you sure you are okay with that?" Chat Noir asked. "We've only just met."

"You're only looking at my ribcage; I think that's pretty PG-13."

Chat Noir laughed, and Marinette pulled her shirt up so her ribcage was in full view. Chat Noir found a few bruises and scrapes from when the Evillustrator had thrown her around, but they were just as she said; none were very serious. Even now, Chat Noir didn't seem to be completely satisfied with everything.

"Silly kitty," Marinette said giggling, as she pulled her shirt back down. "You worry too much."

At this point, Marinette stood up again and made her way up through her trapdoor and up to her balcony. It was a Friday night, so Marinette had the opportunity to stay out and look at the late night stars. She found herself doing it more and more often as of late. After a few moments, she felt Chat walk up next to her. He leaned casually on the terrace railing. While Marinette moved her eyes around the stars, Chat Noir didn't take his eyes off of Marinette.

 _Damnit, when did things get so complicated?_ He thought to himself. He loved Ladybug with all his heart, but there was _something_ about Marinette that was drawing him in. Maybe it was because it was so much easier to talk to her this way. She was usually just a stuttering mess around him when he was Adrien. But this way, he actually got to _know_ her. He got to see that this girl was truly spectacular in so many ways. She was talented, she had a heart of gold, she was always ready to help others. She even threw herself in harm's way to help stop an akuma.

 _If only she and Ladybug were the same person… love wouldn't be so hard._

Through the whole thought process, Chat had still been looking at Marinette. She turned to see him and she blushed. "There is a sky full of the brightest stars, and you're looking at me, Chat?"

"You are the brightest and most beautiful of all of the stars, princess."

Marinette let out a flustered huff, which drew a satisfied chuckle from Chat Noir.

"Silly kitty…"

They stood there for a long time, just staring at the night sky. It was one of the most comfortable silences Marinette had ever experienced. They would have stood there forever if it wasn't for the beep of Chat Noir's ring.

"What was that?" Marinette asked innocently; she knew exactly what it was, but she wasn't Ladybug right now.

"My ring, it means that my transformation is wearing off soon."

"Do you have to go?"

"No, it was only the first beep. I have about 5 minutes."

"Are you sure?" Marinette pushed. "I don't want you to reveal your secret identity to me."

"Don't you worry, princess," Chat Noir said coolly. "Even if I did reveal my secret identity, I think you'd be pleasantly surprised." He winked at her, and she blushed.

"But, I do suppose I should let you get back to your evening."

Chat took Marinette's hands in his. "I'm glad that you're alright, Marinette. Thank you for everything you did to help me today. I'm sorry I couldn't get you out of there sooner."

"Oh, hush, Chat Noir. You still saved me. And I'll never be able to fully show you how grateful I am."

Chat Noir got lost in her eyes. They were one of the most beautiful shades of blue…

His ring beeped again.

"Well, Princess, I must be off. But we should do this again sometime."

With a wink, Chat Noir took off into the night. Marinette returned to her bedroom and fell onto her bed, heart pounding. What was happening?


	3. Chapter 3

Ever since that night as Chat Noir in Marinette's bedroom, Adrien made an effort to keep himself close to Marinette. He knew that it probably wasn't fair to Nathanael that he no longer trusted him, but he couldn't help it. He'd hurt one of his closest friends, and he couldn't shake the bad feelings that surged through him every time Nathanael walked past him.

One afternoon, Nathanael had approached Marinette and threw an arm around her. They were talking and laughing together like there was nothing wrong. Like Nathanael hadn't tried to hurt Marinette. Adrien felt his blood boil. He barely held himself together as he ran up behind them, pushing his way between them.

"Hey, you two. What's happening?"

Marinette blushed furiously, and Nathanael just gave him an odd look.

"Marinette and I were just talking about an upcoming event for the art club," he said cautiously, pulling himself away from Adrien.

"Oh, sounds awesome! You guys need any help with anything?"

"Sorry, it's an exclusive event. Only members of the art club are able to attend. Maybe you can join during the next club fair."

Adrien looked to Marinette, who responded with a deep sigh. "Nathanael is right, unfortunately. Club members only for this one. But thanks for the offer! M-maybe you can help us with our next event?"

Marinette gave Adrien one of her brightest smiles and he almost felt himself floating. "Sure thing, Marinette."

With one last glare in Nathanael's direction, Adrien turned around and walked in the other direction. He seemed tense.

"What's his deal?" Nathanael asked, sounding a bit annoyed. Marinette was concerned, but she had too much to do this afternoon. She had no time to go after him. Was he… jealous of something? Or worried… about something? Marinette hadn't a single clue, but she knew she'd never seen Adrien look so… protective as he did just now, standing between her and Nathanael. Had he been there the other day, when he attacked her as the Evillustrator?

"I don't know," was all she could say in response.

Nathanael shrugged and grabbed Marinette's hand, pulling her towards the art room. They were preparing an exclusive showcase. Each member was going to put together a portfolio of what they've been working on for the past couple of months. It was mainly an exclusive event because the artists often times brought out really intimate pieces that they were only really comfortable sharing with their fellow artists. It was really great bonding time, too. They were able to ask each other questions and tell each other the backgrounds behind their pieces, and everyone always listened attentively. School-wide showcases were usually saved for their more generic works because, well… they usually weren't all that interested in anything anyone had to say about what they'd made. Not as interested as everyone in the club, anyways.

Marinette hated for the club to sound so snobbish, because that really wasn't what they were about. The club was open to everyone during the club fairs, and they always actively promoted the club to their fellow classmates. It was just nice to have something to share with those who were as passionate about art as Marinette was.

Once they had gotten to the club and gotten to work, Marinette had almost forgotten about Adrien's strange behavior that afternoon. That was until they were wrapping up for the night and she received a text from Alya.

 **Girl, what's up with Adrien? I've never seen that boy hold a frown for a whole day before.** **-Alya, 5:58PM**

Marinette pursed her lips. Even Alya noticed that Adrien was acting weird, so it wasn't just Marinette's brain playing tricks on her.

 **I wish I knew. But I can barely get out a sentence around him, so it's not like I could have asked. -Mari, 6:01PM**

She put down her phone and turned to Nathanael, who was putting some finishing touches on some sketches.

"Hey, Nath, what do you think is up with Adrien today? Have you heard anything?"

Nathanael shrugged but didn't turn around. "No idea. Maybe he's just tired or something."

"Yeah… maybe."

Nathanael stood up, closing his sketch book and stuffing it into his bag. "I'm headed out, Mari. See you next week!"

With that, Nathanael was out the door and Marinette was the only one left in the art room. She was so lost in staring at her phone that she didn't notice when a very nervous Adrien Agreste walked into the room, looking for her. She looked up and their eyes met, her face immediately breaking out into a deep blush.

"A-adrien? What are you… doing here?"

He panicked, unsure of what to say. How was he supposed to explain that he was just checking on her because he was actually Chat Noir and he was still incredibly worried about her being hurt?

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sneak up on you. I was just… coming to look at the… art," he lied. Marinette seemed too stunned to notice his voice quivering.

"Oh!" Marinette replied, suddenly much more energetic and much less nervous. "I can show you around! All of our _secret_ stuff has been put away. Everything out is for public display!"

They spent the next thirty minutes walking around the art room, Adrien listening to everything Marinette told him. He was astonished that so many of his classmates were so talented. Even Marinette stretched into mediums beyond fashion design. She drew beautiful sketches, and even had a few water colors hanging up in her corner of the room.

"Wow, Mari. This is so cool. I wish I could do something like that,"

Marinette once again failed to hide her blush. "It's really nothing. Nothing compared to the stuff that Nathanael comes up with!"

Adrien's blood began to boil. It was nearly impossible for him to unlink Nathanael from his akuma. He knew… he _hoped_ Nathanael would never hurt anyone like that. He tried to maintain a straight face, but he knew he was failing. Marinette gave him a strange look.

"Are you okay, Adrien?"

"Yeah!" he lied again, sounding like he was speaking through gritted teeth. Marinette only grew more concerned.

"You've been scowling all day. Is everything okay?"

It was Adrien's turn to blush. Had Marinette noticed him _every_ time he was scowling at Nathanael?

"It's… it's nothing. It's just been a long day."

Marinette smiled sheepishly. "We can save Nathan's stuff for another day, then." Adrien gave her a thankful smile and they left the school together. They waved at each other as Marinette walked towards the bakery. Adrien sat on the steps and sent a text to his body guard saying that he was ready to be picked up from school.

Maybe tomorrow would be better. Maybe he'd get whatever resentful feelings he had towards Nathanael out of his system.


	4. Chapter 4

That night Adrien again visited Marinette as Chat Noir. He kept telling himself it was because he was worried about her, but it was only a half truth. The full truth was that he just wanted an excuse to spend more time with Marinette. But ever since that night with the Evillustrator, he couldn't be as calm and collected with her as Adrien anymore. He didn't want her to know that Adrien knew what happened to her. She wouldn't know that he and Chat Noir were the same person. He landed on her rooftop and knocked lightly on the trap door that led to her bedroom. In a few moments the door swung open, revealing a surprised Marinette.

"What are you doing here, kitty? Don't you know what time it is?"

"Past your bedtime, Princess?"

Marinette climbed onto the roof and closed the door. She took a seat in one of her chairs and let out a deep sigh. "Probably so. But tomorrow is Friday, so I'll probably live." She took a pause and gave Chat Noir a playful look. "You still haven't answered me though. What brings you here today? I'll have you know that I _haven't_ been pummeled by any akumas since the last time we met."

Chat Noir shrugged. "I don't know. I guess I just like spending time with you, Princess."

Marinette hoped her blush wasn't too visible in the nighttime. Chat Noir eventually took a seat next to Marinette and they laid there in silence for a long time, staring up at the stars.

"How many do you think are up there?" Chat Noir asked as his eyes lazily gazed across the sky.

"Too many. They're all so beautiful. It's too bad they're already dead stars."

Chat Noir barely choked back a laugh. "Way to have a positive outlook on things."

Marinette shrugged. "It's what they are! They're still pretty though, the fact that they're not actually alive anymore doesn't change that. Kind of poetic, don't you think?"

"You didn't tell me you're a poet."

"I'm _not_ ," Marinette laughed. "I'm just a simple fashion designer."

"I don't know that I'd say that," Chat Noir suggested. "I've seen your designs on the wall in your room. You're incredibly talented, Marinette."

Marinette was unsure of what to say. She still wasn't used to getting so many compliments on her work. She'd never really shown off much before she won Gabriel Agreste's Derby Hat competition. "Well… thank you. I really appreciate that."

They continued to lay there for what felt like forever. A small part of Chat Noir wished it would have lasted forever, but eventually Marinette stood up and stretched.

"Well, I should probably head back inside. It's getting late and I have to help my parents in the bakery tomorrow," she said softly, her voice tired.

"I could stop by, if you want my company," he said with a wink.

Marinette laughed. "As much as we'd love to have one of Paris' heroes eating our cookies, I'm sure you have much more important things to be doing tomorrow."

"So are you telling me I'm not allowed to show up?"

"Goodnight, kitty," she said, laughing. With that, she opened her trap door and stepped inside, leaving Chat alone on the balcony.

She was right. Adrien had a photo shoot tomorrow, so he wouldn't be able to stop by Marinette's bakery during normal business hours. He thought about returning tomorrow night, but he didn't want to keep showing up uninvited like this. What if she had company? She didn't want anyone to start pestering her about the suspicious amount of time they'd been spending together. After all, they were just… friends.

He also couldn't just leave his phone number. Because, well… she already had his number. She had Adrien's number. And he wasn't that stupid.

He was going to have to get closer to Marinette as Adrien. Because being friends with her as Chat Noir was going to get very difficult very quickly.

He finally leapt from the balcony and headed towards his own home, his mind racing. If he was going to be Marinette's friend, he would first have to stop acting so _weird_ about the whole Evillustrator ordeal. Nathaniel was _not_ the Evillustrator, and he was not going to hurt her. And he had to stop looking at the kid like he wanted to rip his head off.

 _Even though I absolutely want to rip his head off…_ he thought to himself.

Things would go back to normal soon enough, right? They'd go back into their usual limbo, and it would be like this akuma attack never happened?

But it did happen. It happened and Adrien had been forced to face feelings he'd been repressing for so long. Yes, he was absolutely, undeniably in love with Ladybug, and that was never going to change.

But he'd finally been brought face-to-face with his feelings for Marinette, and it wasn't something he was going to be able to escape now. Whether he truly loved her or if it was just infatuation, he wasn't sure.

Or maybe he was sure and he didn't want to admit to himself that he'd fallen so out of touch with his Lady.

He finally leapt through his open bedroom window and landed with a soft thud. " _How did this all get so confusing?_ " he muttered as he detransformed. His kwami landed on his shoulder, groaning.

"It's just how it is, Adrien. That's why I think you'd be better off living like me. Nothing in this life but me and my cheese."

Adrien laughed. "If I could stop feeling all these feelings and just love cheese as much as you do, Plagg, I would. Love isn't easy."

Plagg let out a frustrated sigh. "You're fifteen years old, Adrien. You don't have to figure it all out right now. Plus, is it really all that unusual to fall for someone who is more… attainable?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You don't know who Ladybug is. But you know who Marinette is. She isn't some mystery girl behind a mask who knows how to kick but. She's a real girl who obviously cares a lot about you. Both as Adrien and as Chat Noir."

Adrien blushed. Marinette had seemed to have grown to like Chat Noir a lot more since their first meeting.

"Thanks, Plagg. You know, I think this is some of the most helpful advice you've ever given me."

"Don't get used to it. Now can we _please_ get some cheese? I'm starving over here,"

Adrien let out another laugh. "And there he is."

He gave Plagg a piece of Camembert and went to get ready for bed. He absolutely wanted to do literally anything else than go to this photo shoot tomorrow. But he knew his father wouldn't take no for an answer. He never did. Once he laid down to go to sleep, he dreamt of what it would be like to have his mother around again. She always made Gabriel ensure that he gave Adrien enough time to be a kid, no matter how badly his father wanted to turn him into his miniature model. He wondered where his mother was. He hoped that wherever she was, she was happy. He hoped that she hadn't forgotten about him. That she still loved him more than anything, like she'd always told him.


	5. Chapter 5

The next day Adrien blindly sat through his photo shoot. He moved and posed when the photographer shouted commands at him, but he wasn't putting much effort into the shoot at all. After about an hour of minimal success, the photographer called for a break. Adrien's father marched over to him, the displeasure obvious on his face.

"Adrien, what is the meaning of this? I told you to make sure you got enough sleep last night. We won't be leaving until we have met the minimum photo requirements. So the sooner you start cooperating, the sooner you can leave."

Adrien groaned. "Can't you just hire new models, father? Maybe I don't want to have photo shoots every other weekend. Maybe I want to make plans with my friends every once in a while."

"You are my son, and you will do as I say. You wouldn't want me to stop sending you to school, would you?"

Adrien sighed and hung his head. "No father."

"You have five minutes to get yourself together before we resume the shoot. Do not disappoint me, Adrien."

His father laced his hands neatly behind his back and turned on his heel, marching back to where the photographer stood. Adrien tried not to let his frustration boil over. He didn't understand why his dad expected so much of him all the time. Did his father _not_ have friends when he was a kid? That wouldn't be much of a surprise, given how much his father preferred his own company over anyone else's. Even Adrien didn't get to spend as much time with his father as his father spent on his own.

Eventually, somehow, the shoot finally ended and Adrien was shuttled into the car to make his way home. He had wanted so desperately to stop by Marinette's bakery at some point, but the shoot had lasted longer than it was supposed to and he was exhausted. He opted to just take a shower and fall into his bed. At some point Natalie knocked on his door and brought in some dinner, but he wasn't hungry. Instead he laid in his bed and eventually fell into an uneasy sleep. He would be tired for sure, but at least tomorrow was Monday. He could go back to school and spend some much needed time with all of his friends.

The next morning Adrien woke up right on time and got dressed. He was ready almost a half hour before he was schedule to be driven to school, so he quietly got his bag together and snuck out of the house. He made his way down the drive way and almost thought he was in the clear. But he felt a hand grab his shoulder and spin him around. It was his father. Of course.

"You still have thirty minutes until the car leaves, Adrien. Where are you going?"

Adrien gave an annoyed sigh and jerked himself out of his father's grasp. "I wanted to walk. I've had enough of all the people in this house for a few days."

"You know how I feel about you going anywhere without your body guard present."

"And at this point, you should know how _I_ feel about having a body guard in the first place. Please, father, just this once? Please can I just walk to school?"

His father regarded him for a moment. Adrien almost thought he had won the argument. He should have known better.

"No. You will come wait inside and your body guard is going to drive you to school when it is time."

Adrien was finally ready to blow.

"I'm not a child anymore, father! I can make my own decisions about what I want to do and regrading my own safety. I'm not a stupid kid, despite what you seem to think."

His father turned on his heel, and gave him an empty look. It was not angry, it was not sad. It was nothing.

"I've never once worried about your intelligence, Adrien. I worry about everyone else out there who will do stupid things before you can react. I worry about the increasing amount of villains on the streets of Paris. You're more precious to me than anything else in my life, Adrien. And above everything else I need you to be where I know you're safe."

His father turned back towards the house. "Walk to school if you must. But know that if that's what you decide to do, then you may find that it is the last time you walk into that school."

Adrien resisted the urge he felt to scream until his father had gotten back inside. He fell to the ground and sat there, waiting for his bodyguard to arrive with the car. Plagg peaked out of Adrien's pocket, his face concerned.

"Adrien, are you okay?"

"Why does he treat me like this? He always claims it is for my own good, but I know it isn't anymore. I'm a possession, not a person. He keeps me close because without me he has nothing. He would rather both of us be miserable than have me find the things that make me happy."

Eventually Adrien found himself climbing out of his car headed for school. He'd never been more relieved in his life. His attention was immediately drawn to Marinette talking to Alya; Marinette looked panicked. Though, that was the usual case. But this time it seemed… different.

He ran behind the wall next to the stairs and listened in to their conversation. He ignored Plagg's teasing coming from inside his shirt pocket.

"Girl, you need to calm down! It isn't the weirdest thing in the world to end up liking a different person, you know. _Especially_ when you can actually have conversations with this person."

Marinette groaned as Alya continued to laugh at her. "It isn't funny Alya! Adrien is supposed to be the love of my life, how is it possible for me to start liking someone else?"

Adrien felt the blush creep into his cheeks, and then immediately felt his heart sink. Marinette… _liked_ him. Past tense. As in, she no longer did like him.

"Though, I do have to say, your taste is getting increasingly worse. First you fall for the model that almost every girl in Paris is after. And now… _Chat Noir_? Girl you don't even know who he is!"

"I know that Alya! But I can't help it. Ever since he helped me escape the Evillustrator, I can't… I can't get him out of my mind! It's crazy! Everyone always paints him to be the irresponsible flirty sidekick, but… they couldn't be any more wrong about him."

"Oh my God, girl, you are absolutely gone,"

"Shut up! I know."

Their voices began to fade and Adrien peaked above the wall to see that they'd turned and started walking back into the school. He tried to steady his breathing, but it was hard. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. Marinette… liked him. She has liked him for a while. How did he never notice? How had he never heard anyone talking about it until now?

How was he supposed to react? He had just eavesdropped on their conversation, so he couldn't just walk up to her and say "oh, by the way, I really like you too! But unfortunately, I'm also madly in love with Ladybug, so I don't know where we're supposed to go from here!"

Adrien groaned and made his way into the school. He needed to talk to Nino and figure out what to do. He'd never confided in a friend about his feelings before, but he needed an outsider's opinion at this point. He couldn't screw this up. And he knew that based on his track record, that's exactly what he was doomed to do.

The first thing he was going to do, he decided, was to figure out just how much Marinette liked Adrien. If it was just a small crush, then she'd probably be over him soon and then he could just pretend that this whole emotional fling never happened. His heart would belong to his Lady, and only his Lady. He landed lightly on Marinette's balcony and lightly tapped the trap door. In a moment, Marinette's sparkling blue eyes peaked out and met his intense green. She smiled, and opened the door wider.

"It's cold out tonight, why don't you come inside, kitty?" He climbed inside and followed Marinette, who sat down at her desk. She had a bunch of books opened and she looked frustrated. She was studying for their physics test coming up this week. But she let him in anyway. She very well could have told him to go away because she was busy, but… she didn't.

"You know," she started playfully. "If you keep showing up like this, kitty, someone is bound to notice."

"Don't worry, Princess; I'm just a cat that loves cakes and cookies, nothing strange there."

Marinette gave a soft chuckle and spun herself around in her chair a few times. She still wasn't entirely sure what compelled her to let Chat come in. Maybe he was good at Physics or something, and he'd be willing to help her study. But deep down, she knew she had no intention of continuing to study with Chat present. Her heart was pounding; it was almost how she felt every time she saw Adrien walking by at school. She bumped her mouse as she spun and her computer screen came on. She had all but forgotten what her computer background was, and she panicked, jumping up to turn her monitor off. However, it was too late. Chat Noir had seen her screen, and he walked over to sit on a clean area of her desk, smirking at her.

"Who was that, princess?"

"N-n-nobody. Just, just a person. It was nobody."

Chat Noir chuckled. "Given by how much you're blushing, it wasn't _nobody_." Chat Noir turned to see a few professional pictures of himself pinned to her wall. He wanted to feel his heart sink. Everything had just gotten so much more complicated. But instead his heart fluttered. ' _She really does like me_ ' he thought to himself. Chat took one down and inspected it. "It was this one, wasn't it? Who is he?" Chat asked again, his voice filled to the brim with a teasing tone. Marinette gave a sigh of defeat before snatching the picture out of Chat's hands and letting her head fall on her desk.

"It's Adrien Agreste," Marinette admitted. "He goes to my school, and I have a _huge_ crush on him, but I don't think it'll go much farther than that."

"What makes you think that, princess?" Chat asked softly, tone growing serious.

"Well, I can't form a coherent sentence around him, for one, so I probably just seem like a bumbling idiot to him. And it's just one of those situations where the other party just seems to be... completely uninterested in you in the romantic way. I'm pretty sure Adrien likes someone else."

Chat Noir felt guilty again. Before he could think up a response, Marinette laughed and continued talking, as though she were only talking to herself and forgot Chat was still there.

"I remember it was Adrien's birthday a few weeks ago," she started, playing with her pigtails as she spoke. "I knitted him a light blue scarf, and brought it to his house. But dumb me forgot to sign the package, so it didn't say it was from me. But later that day, when The Bubbler was throwing Adrien a birthday party, my friend Alya dragged me into his house, and she found my present for him, so I signed a Sticky Note and stuck it on the present. But, I guess his father found it and took my note off, and gave it to Adrien saying it was a gift from him."

Chat Noir's blood boiled. He knew it was too good to be true; his father actually caring for him and getting him a genuinely nice present. Chat Noir tried his best to keep his cool as Marinette continued.

"At first I was a little upset, because it was the first time I'd ever really tried to reach out to Adrien and try to express my feelings for him, but... he looked so happy, thinking it was a present from his dad."

Chat froze, his eyes trained on Marinette now, his anger slowly melting away as he listened to her.

"I just want Adrien to be happy, even if it means that things don't always go right for me... because, I feel like I see sadness in his eyes a lot. And I just want him to have all of the happiness in the world. He deserves it."

Chat Noir's heart thumped. "And you really think he wouldn't like someone like you?"

"He doesn't see me except for when I'm acting like a complete idiot."

"Well, are you always an idiot?"

Marinette looked like she was putting a lot of consideration into her answer. "I guess... I guess not. I mean, I am the class president... and I won a design contest that was judged by Gabriel Agreste. So, I guess I've done _some_ good things."

"Princess, be more confident in yourself," Chat said, standing up. He pulled Marinette up from her chair so they stood face to face. He felt both of their breaths catch in their throats. He wasn't sure what to say. All he managed was a broken set of sentences.

"Your eyes. So beautiful."

Marinette immediately blushed and barely stuttered a thank you in response.

They stood there for what felt like hours. Eventually, Chat Noir's attention was drawn to the clock on Marinette's desk. It was getting late. If he wasn't home soon, he'd be in trouble.

"My sincerest apologies Princess, but this kitty is almost late for curfew."

He turned back to Marinette who was still blushing furiously. She nodded in response. "Y-yeah, I've got some, uh… some studying to do."

"Same time next week?" Chat Noir teased, headed for the trapdoor.

Marinette giggled. "We'll have to see, kitty. Goodnight."

"Sweet dreams, princess. And good luck on your Physics test!"

With that, he was gone.

How did… how did he know it was Physics? She hadn't thought he'd gotten that good of a look at the notes on her desk.

She thought no more about it as she sat down and put her headphones on, getting lost in the latest album from Jagged Stone.


	6. Chapter 6

Adrien fell onto his bed, much like he did the night before. He groaned and threw an arm over his face. Plagg had been laughing at him since they got home.

"I'm telling you, Adrien. The suffering isn't worth it. Forget about love! Cheese is all you'll ever need in this life."

Adrien groaned. "It's already bad enough I have to suffer in this stupid love triangle. But I also have to suffer through your stupid, stinky cheese."

Plagg shrugged and plopped another piece of cheese in his mouth. "You know, you really may be worrying over nothing at all."

Adrien gave Plagg a strange look. He'd never heard his kwami sound so sure of anything before other than how hungry he was. But he was really sure about this. It must be the tenth time that he's told him this exact phrase over the past week. "You know something I don't, don't you?"

Plagg gave a smug look. "I cannot confirm, nor deny this statement. But soon enough you will know for yourself."

"I hate it when you're cryptic," Adrien said, before rolling over and falling into another uneasy sleep.

The next day, for once in her life, Marinette was actually early to school. She was meeting up with Nathanael. The exclusive exposé was that night, and Marinette agreed to come in early to help starting the set-up for everything. She was really very excited for tonight; it was weird, considering it was an event that Adrien couldn't attend. Though, she supposed it was nice to be excited about something other than Adrien for once.

Though, she had noticed, she was starting to feel less and less like a fanatic around him. It was all a mess, really. Her jumbled up feelings between Adrien and Chat Noir. The first time she met Chat Noir, she was completely convinced his bad puns and terrible flirting were never going to tear down her defenses. But, here she was. Alya already knew of her struggles with the black-masked superhero. She hadn't mentioned much about how they'd gotten to know each other, other than the fact that Chat Noir has saved her 2 or 3 times as Marinette now. She shook her head in attempt to clear away her thoughts as she arrived to the art room. Nathanael and Alix were already there working on a big sign for the event. At the end of each exposé they all always signed the big banner to commemorate all the club members from that year. Then they banner would join the rest in the back of the room.

After this event, they would have their public summer showcase to show off finished projects before the end of the school year. It was like a 'hey! Sign up for the art club next year!' sort of thing. But since Marinette joined her freshman year, she hasn't seen any more new faces. She walked up to Nathanael and Alix, with the latter threatening to paint a mustache onto the former over something that he'd said.

"Hey guys! The banner is looking awesome," she said, her eyes lighting up. Alix had given this one a street art theme, and it really looked incredible.

Alix looked up at Marinette with a small smile. "Thanks, Mari. You're welcome to help if you want, but we're almost done with it."

Marinette waved her hand in the air. "No, I'll stick to my sketching. I don't want to mess up all your guys' hard work!"

She walked over to her corner and dropped down her bag. She pulled out her sketch book and flipped through it. She had one more sketch that she was considering putting up for the exposé. It was a sketch she'd done of Chat Noir, the night they stood together on her balcony. The moonlight against his figure had left her breathless, and it still does every time she comes back to the sketch. She hated how much her heart fluttered around him now. She hated how now there were two of her closest friends who she felt like she couldn't say a word to, because she turned into a stuttering wreck. After a few minutes of pondering, she was interrupted by Rose walking up behind her. She was scared right out of her wits and nearly jumped three feet high when Rose tapped her on the shoulder.

"Oh! Sorry, Marinette, I didn't mean to scare you," she said her voice soft. Her eyes were drawn back to Marinette's sketchbook. "That's a really great picture, Marinette. Are you going to showcase it today?"

Marinette blushed. "I don't know… It isn't _that_ good."

Just then, Nathanael walked up to her and pulled the sketchbook from her hands. Before she could protest, Nathanael was admiring the portrait.

"Are you kidding, Marinette? This is an amazing sketch. I didn't know you liked Chat Noir so much," he said, giving her a sly grin. Marinette yanked the sketchbook back and shoved it into her bookbag.

"I like Chat Noir just as much as the next person," she said, her voice defiant. "No more, no less."

Nathanael's grin only widened, and Marinette blushed. "If you don't showcase it today, then I hope you're prepared to put it up at the summer showcase," he teased.

"Oh Nathan, leave her alone," Alix groaned from where she was still putting finishing touches on the banner. "The girl obviously has a crush, let her live."

"I do not have a crush on Chat Noir! I don't even know who he is,"

"The fun is in the mystery!" Rose shouted, twirling away to her desk, sheet music strewn everywhere. Her band was going to be debuting one of their new songs today. "It's so romantic, really. Your mysterious prince."

Marinette groaned, and not a minute later the bell rang, indicating that morning classes were about to begin. _Thank god_ she thought. She could avoid this onslaught of teasing for the rest of the day until the showcase tonight. She picked up her bag and ran out of the room, with a brief "see you guys later" to all of her friends.

Almost immediately after running out of the room she ran into none other than Adrien Agreste. She and Adrien both fell backwards with hard thuds.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry, Adrien," Marinette said, scrambling to get up and moving to help Adrien back to his feet. "Are you okay?"

Adrien gave her a soft smile. "No worries, Marinette. No harm done. Sorry, I should have been paying more attention to where I was going."

Marinette laughed. "No, it was definitely me who wasn't paying enough attention. I was just trying way too hard to get away from the art room."

Adrien's heart sunk. Did Nathanael do something? "Everything alright, Marinette?"

She gave a nervous laugh. "Yeah! Everything is fine. Nothing weird is going on, that's for sure! Well, I've gotta hit the gas! I mean, get to class! I'll see you later, Adrien!"

With that, Marinette ran away again, blushing furiously. Adrien didn't like that exchange at all. Was she okay? Did Nathanael do something to hurt her again? He knew he couldn't be trusted…


	7. Chapter 7

Without really thinking, Adrien approached Nathanael in class and sat down next to him.

"Did you do anything to Marinette today?" he asked, his voice low and threatening.

Nathanael looked at him like he'd grown three heads. "What the heck are you talking about, Adrien? Why would I do anything to Marinette? She's my friend."

"If she's such a good friend of yours, then how can you explain what you did to her when you were akumatized?" he asked, his voice accusatory. A few of their classmates had turned around to look at them, confused. Most of them probably didn't know what had happened between Marinette and the Evillustrator. And he was sure that was probably something Marinette would rather keep private. So why was he doing this? Why was Adrien doing this when he knew better? Under the influence of Hawkmoth, nobody is themselves. He shouldn't be putting Nathanael on the spot like this. He should just apologize and walk away and they could forget any of this ever happened.

But nothing was so simple when it came to him, was it?

Nathanael's eyes saddened. "Did I… did I hurt Marinette when I was akumatized?"

"Yes, you did! And now all of a sudden she doesn't feel safe in the art room, one of her favorite places in this whole city! So what exactly did you do to her, Nathanael?! Why do you keep hurting her!"

Just then, Marinette walked in on the incident. Being the responsible class representative she was, she immediately got involved.

"Adrien? Nathanael? What's going on you guys?"

Nathanael turned to her, his eyes filling with tears. "Marinette I'm so sorry if I hurt you. It was never my intention. You're such a good friend to me and I never want to hurt you," he said, his voice quivering.

"Woah, hold on. What are you talking about, Nathanael?" she asked, her voice concerned.

"I didn't mean to make you run from the art room today. I didn't know you still didn't feel safe around me after I was akumatized—"

"I don't feel unsafe around you at all, Nathanael," Marinette said softly. Confused about this whole encounter, Marinette turned to Adrien, who looked angrier than she'd ever seen him in her life.

"What is this about, Adrien?"

"I'm talking about when he hurt you when he was akumatized!"

Marinette blushed furiously. "H-how do you know about that?"

Without missing a beat, he continued. "I saw him. When Chat Noir was fighting him off. I saw him. I didn't know what to do. I wanted to help so badly, but I didn't want to get in the way. I just can't believe he'd do that to someone he considered a friend. Akumatized or not. And now you're running from the art room, and perhaps maybe its time Nathanael learned about what he's done.

"Adrien," Marinette said sharply. "This isn't like you. What is going on?"

"I'm not going to stand by and watch you get hurt by scum like him, Marinette!"

She took a step back. His anger had escalated even more, and she didn't know what to do. Mrs. Bustier had just walked into the classroom. She was equally as shocked by the encounter as everyone else in the room. Nobody had ever seen Adrien get so… angry. He was always so calm and level headed. What had happened that was so terrible that he felt so vicious towards Nathanael?

"Mr. Agreste, that is incredibly inappropriate. Please pack up your things and go see Principal Damocles immediately!"

He scowled once more in Nathanael's direction before slinging his bag over his shoulder and stomping out of the classroom. Plagg peaked out of his shirt, looking concerned.

"Adrien, that was really strange."

"I guess I just didn't get enough sleep last night," Adrien muttered.

"You know, Marinette is going to want you to apologize to him. They're obviously really good friends and you misread the situation."

"I wouldn't apologize to that piece of garbage even if it meant my life."

Plagg, taken aback by the response, retreated back into Adrien's jacket.

Marinette sat down next to Nathanael and put a hand on his shoulder. "Nathanael, I'm not afraid of you. I don't hold you accountable for what you did when you were akumatized. You're still a great friend of mine. I'm really sorry about Adrien, I really don't know what's wrong with him lately."

Marinette pulled Nathanael into a tight hug, and she felt him smile against her shoulder.

"If you were really that upset about me teasing you about Chat Noir, just say the word and I won't say anything about it ever again," he said, smiling.

Marinette lightly punched his arm. "What would I do without your constant teasing, though?"

With that, the bell rang, and Marinette stood up and made her way to her seat. Homeroom passed by as normal, but Marinette's eyes kept darting back to Adrien's empty seat.

 _What is happening with you, Adrien Agreste_? _This is so unlike you_.

Once Adrien reached the principal's office, he knocked lightly. He heard a gruff "come in" and opened the door. He took a seat in one of the chairs across Mr. Damocles' desk, and remained quiet until Mr. Damocles had finished typing on his computer. He looked up and was shocked to see Adrien Agreste sitting in front of him.

"Mr. Agreste? I don't think I've ever seen you in my office before. What happened?"

"I had an inappropriate outburst during homeroom with Mrs. Bustier," Adrien said flatly, not making eye contact.

"I see," Mr. Damocles said thoughtfully. "Well, Adrien. You're a good student, and this is the only time you've been sent to my office. I'm tempted to let you off with a warning as long as there was no physical violence in the encounter."

"There was no physical violence. Only some shouting and name calling."

"May I ask what the name calling was?"

"I called Nathanael Kurtzberg scum."

Mr. Damocles was obviously shocked. "Well, Mr. Agreste. I will let you off with a warning. But don't let it happen again, or we will have to get your father involved. And you and I both know he is a very busy man."

Adrien sighed. He was thankful that Mr. Damocles was being so generous today. "Yes sir. Thank you, Mr. Damocles."

"Yes, yes. Now run along, you don't want to miss too much of your class."

Adrien stood up and left the office. He didn't really want to face everyone again just yet, so he hid out in the boy's restroom until the bell rang for the next period. Plagg flew out of his shirt again and buzzed around his head.

"You're lucky Hawkmoth hasn't sent an akuma after you yet, Adrien," he said warily.

Adrien took a deep sigh. "I know. I know…I need to calm down. I'm trying."

He buried his head in his hands and groaned. He'd never ever lost his cool so severely before. Was it really his feelings for Marinette that made him lash out so severely? What are his classmates going to think of him now?

What… what is Marinette going to think of him?

What would Ladybug think of him?


	8. Chapter 8

Adrien walked back into the classroom and sat down at his seat. Everyone turned and looked at him, but he stared blankly at the front of the room. He didn't say a word or look at anyone. The bell eventually rang, and they all filtered out quietly, most people murmuring amongst themselves, speculating what was going on.

Marinette wanted desperately to find out what was going on with Adrien, but she didn't want to push him any further than he'd already been pushed today. She was honestly kind of afraid of what he'd look like if he got any angrier than she'd already seen him today.

That was the scariest part. Seeing someone who is usually so calm absolutely erupt in anger. He knew something that Marinette didn't. He knew something that nobody else knew, and it looked like it was starting to eat him alive.

She knew the feeling all too well.

The rest of the day passed in a haze. For most people, the day returned to normal. But the scene from that morning kept replaying in Marinette's head.

 _Adrien wasn't there that day. At least, she didn't see him. He could have been hiding, but… she would have seen him at some point._

But he said he was there. He saw the Evillustrator attacking her.

Finally the day ended and it was time for the art show. She was one of the first people to get to the art room. Everyone's displays were up and ready, and Marinette felt the excitement flow through her again.

Nathanael arrived next with Juleka and Rose, and they all had food in tow.

The rest of the evening was spent with music, laughter, and lots of sticky notes on everyone's art. Some people, also known as Nathanael, also tried to put sticky notes on Rose's band. Their lead guitarist, Luka, seemed to be the most entertained by this, as he missed quite a few chords because he was laughing so hard. She turned to see Juleka shaking her head at her brother's nonsense.

In the end, Marinette had decided to showcase her sketch of Chat Noir. He was a savior of Paris, after all… it wasn't _that_ weird to have one… or several… sketches of one of Paris' most beloved heroes.

Marinette made sure to leave a sticky note on a piece of art from everyone. She thought one of the most important things about being an artist was lifting up your fellow artists, because you never know when someone needs encouragement. She too ended up sticking a sticky note to Luka's forehead for Rose, earning a wink from Luka. She wasn't sure if her blush was noticeable, but judging by the sly smirk Nathanael gave her after she retreated to her corner of the room, it had been _very_ noticeable.

Eventually the evening came to a close, and everyone shared laughter-filled goodbyes. Marinette arrived home to see her parents curled up on the couch watching the news.

"How was the expose, Marinette?" her mother asked, smiling at her.

"Oh, it was so much fun!" Marinette said excitedly. "We all had such a great time, and I feel like all the members of the art club are even closer than they were before."

"It's so good that you have so many good friends, Marinette. I'm glad that you get to spend so much time with them," her father said, beaming at her.

"Well, I'm beat. I'm gonna go get some sleep."

Marinette gave both of her parents kisses on the forehead before running upstairs. She was headed to her bathroom to start getting ready for bed when she heard a light rapping on her trap door. Curious, she climbed up the stairs and peeked up. Lo and behold, it was Chat Noir.

Why was her heart beating so fast all of a sudden?

She pushed the door open and rested her elbows on the floor of her balcony.

"Hey there kitty. What brings you here at this hour?"

Chat Noir had been crying. Even in the dim light she could see the wetness around his eyes, and they even looked like the green were tinted red.

Concerned, Marinette crawled all the way out onto the balcony. "Chat? Is everything okay?"

"I made a complete fool of myself today, Marinette. I don't know what to do."

Marinette's heart started beating faster. "I need more than that, Chat. What's going on? What happened? Why were you crying?"

With no response, Chat Noir just pulled Marinette into a tight hug. She hugged back with no question, rubbing his back soothingly. She just whispered that everything was going to be alright. She wasn't sure what else to say. She was starting to get really concerned. Did someone hurt him? Did he hurt himself?

"Chat, did someone hurt you?" she asked, pulling away from him.

Chat looked down, shaking his head. "No. I think I hurt someone else. Someone that I really care about."

Marinette rested her hand on his shoulder. "You can talk to me, Chat Noir. I promise that anything you tell me will stay between us."

"There is this girl that I think I like. And… that is already bad enough because I still love Ladybug. But, I let my jealousy get the better of me and made a total fool of myself. I had thought maybe she liked me a little bit, but now I'm sure I've ruined all my chances with her."

Marinette laughed. "I'm sure if you just take her to the side and explain what happened, she'd understand. You're a great person, Chat Noir, and I don't think you should let something like this stop you from being happy."

Chat was still sniffling. "I also did this in front of everyone in my class today. I'm so afraid of facing them again tomorrow. I don't want everyone to think differently of me because of this."

"Your true friends are not going to treat you any differently. They will understand it was just a bad day for you. The people who don't understand that are no good to have around you anyways."

Chat smiled even though he was still crying, and he looked up at Marinette with thankful eyes.

"You really are amazing, Marinette. You know that, right?"

Marinette blushed. "Well, I can't leave the savior of Paris up here without a shoulder to cry on. Especially not after I showcased a sketch of you at the expose for my art club tonight," she said, winking at him. She beamed as she saw some color creep into Chat's cheeks.

"You… you drew a sketch of me?" he asked, truly bewildered.

"Yeah! I can go grab it if you want to see. I've done a couple so far…"

In a moment Marinette was back on the balcony with her sketchbook, and she and Chat Noir leaned against each other as he flipped through the sketches. There were so many of him… but none of Ladybug.

"Why do you only draw me, Princess? I thought you liked Ladybug too.

"I, I do! I just, I don't know… I think I like you better."

"Oh Princess, I'm flattered."

"Shut up," Marinette snapped, her voice full of laughter. It had been almost two hours since Chat Noir showed up. Sleep was starting to tug at Marinette's eyelids. Chat looked pretty exhausted himself.

"Well kitty, I wish I could stay up here all night, but I had a really long day and I should probably get some sleep," Marinette said, letting out a soft yawn. "You should probably get some sleep yourself."

"Yeah," Chat said softly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sleep is probably going to be the best thing for me now."

Marinette lightly kissed Chat Noir's forehead. "Goodnight, kitty. I hope you feel better soon."

With that, Marinette climbed back down to her room. Chat stood for a moment more before leaping away towards his own home.

 _I love you, Marinette_.


	9. Chapter 9

The next day, everyone was cautious as Adrien walked by them. There was one thing he had to do before talking to Marinette.

He had to find Nathanael and apologize to him for calling him out in front of everyone like that. It wouldn't solve everything, but it would hopefully show Nathanael and Marinette that he was just having a bad day and that he didn't truly mean all of the awful things he'd said.

Because, deep down he knew he hadn't. Nathanael wasn't a bad person, and he could see that he cared for Marinette very much. He never should have let his feelings get in the way of his opinions of people, and he swore to himself that he would never do that again. Especially not with an akuma victim. He knew that being akumatized took a large toll on people, and they already feel guilty enough about all the damage they cause when they aren't even in control of themselves. He was supposed to be a savior of Paris, and saviors of Paris were supposed to make people feel safe.

He spotted Nathanael and Marinette walking towards the art room. He ran up behind them and tapped Nathanael on the shoulder. As he made eye contact with Nathanael, he looked away sheepishly, and Marinette gave Adrien a concerned look.

"Nathanael, I owe you an apology," Adrien started, his voice soft. He seemed to have returned back the calm and collected Adrien that everyone knew. "I shouldn't have called you names yesterday, and I shouldn't have been holding you accountable for the things you did while you were akumatized. I'm really sorry, Nathanael. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive me."

Nathanael gave Adrien a relieved smile. Adrien turned and saw that Marinette was smiling at him too. Exactly what he'd hoped for.

"I forgive you, Adrien. I know what it is like to have a rough day, and sometimes it is hard to not take your anger out on others. But it shows a lot about your character that you actively seeked me out to apologize. I really appreciate that."

Marinette was beaming. Classic class representative, watching her classmates work out problems with pride. Just another thing to add to the endless list of things that made Adrien absolutely crazy about her. Suddenly, Alya appeared out of nowhere and dragged Marinette away from the group. She was absolutely ecstatic about her latest video for the Lady Blog, so Marinette had no choice but to let herself be dragged away. She waved quickly at Adrien and Nathanael before turning back to Alya. Adrien watched as she went, forgetting that Nathanael was still in front of him. Nathanael turned and looked after Marinette too, chuckling to himself.

"You care about her a lot, don't you?" he asked, giving Adrien a knowing look. Adrien blushed and stammered. "Y-yeah, of course I do! Marinette's a… she's a great friend."

"Hmm," Nathanael hummed, patting Adrien on the shoulder. "I know that _I_ don't look at my friends like that."

Before Adrien could question what he meant, the bell rang. "Well, we should get to class," he said before turning and walking towards the stairs. Adrien was left a blushing mess. He followed behind the rest of his classmates as they made their way to Mrs. Bustier's classroom.

The day passed by normally. Most of their classmates had learned that Adrien had made a big effort to apologize to Nathanael, and everything from yesterday passed as a reaction to a bad day. He was glad, because he wouldn't know what to do with himself if he'd caused the only friends he'd ever made to absolutely hate his guts.

The end of the day finally arrived, and Marinette rushed to the art room. Adrien tried to catch her, but she was really on the move today. He followed her towards the art room a few feet back, but he stopped short as he watched her bump into a stranger and stumble backwards, dropping her sketchbook. She looked up to see Juleka's brother, Luka, looking equally confused. He had been scribbling in his song book that was now on the ground next to her sketches. She looked down to see that the book had landed open to the sketch she'd been drawing of him from the night he and his band played at the exposé. Marinette blushed furiously as she scrambled to pick up her book. She looked to see that a light blush had flushed across Luka's face as well.

"Woah, you're really talented, Marinette," Luka said, his voice wavering slightly.

Marinette smiled at him. "You really think so? It was just a little sketch I was working on… but I'm glad you like it!" Marinette was absolutely beaming, and Adrien felt an ache in his heart. "That means a lot coming from a musician as talented as you, Luka."

Luka blushed more, and offered Marinette his hand. Marinette took it and they walked together the rest of the way to the art room. Adrien thought about following her in, but he decided against it.

He'd never seen this guy before. Who was he, and how were he and Marinette so close?

He felt jealousy flare up in him again. He was an absolute mess. He was supposed to be in love with Ladybug. How did he get himself caught up in all of these feelings with Marinette?

He walked outside to see his bodyguard with the car, ready to take him home. He figured he had nothing else left to do here, since Marinette was preoccupied with her club meeting. He was sure that he would find a chance to talk to her alone at some point tomorrow. He could tell her how he felt about her then. It wasn't too late.

He thought about visiting Marinette again and asking her for more advice. He really really didn't want to mess up his chances.

Marinette was always the stumbling, stuttering mess around him. When had the tables turned so suddenly?

Adrien climbed into the back of his car and let his head fall back against the seat and he closed his eyes. He wished his mom were here. She always knew exactly what to say to make him feel better.

He wondered where she was.

To Marinette's great relief, Chat Noir appeared, as he always did. She was already rambling before he'd landed on the balcony.

"Chat Noir, I have a problem," she said, her voice panicked.

"What seems to be the trouble, Princess?" he asked, his voice sweet. God, she was losing her mind. Luka, Adrien, Chat Noir… why were there so many great guys in Paris?!

"I think I like someone and I don't know what to do! I'm so terrible at thinking, and… talking. What do I do?"

Chat Noir's heart thumped. Was she going to admit that she had feelings for him, Chat Noir? For Adrien? What was he supposed to say? I mean, he knew what he wanted to say.

 _I like you a lot too, Marinette. I_ really _like you._

"There is this boy that I know, and we haven't really talked much yet, but… his name is Luka and he plays the guitar and he is really sweet and everything is happening so quickly. I don't know how to approach this situation."

Chat Noir felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. Not only was she not talking about him… she wasn't talking about Adrien either.

Had she… moved on? Completely? Was… was Adrien too late after all?

Chat Noir looked down at his baton, pretending to see a call pop up from Ladybug.

"I'm sorry Princess, something just came up," he said, his voice quiet. "We'll have to continue this conversation later."

He couldn't stay here and listen to this conversation. He wouldn't be able to stay here and keep his calm. Not today. Not like this. Not when he'd gotten so close to what he wanted this time. He had never tried so hard to keep his cool in his life.

Marinette looked taken aback, but she nodded. "Oh, okay. I'll see you tomorrow, then?" she asked, smiling at him.

"Yeah. Tomorrow," he said, his voice cold.

With that, Chat turned and barreled towards home. The tears stung in his eyes as he flew through Paris, trying not to think about how much everything hurt. He didn't return the shy wave that Marinette gave him as he left.

Marinette could feel that something was wrong with him, but he was too far away now. She knew for a fact that Ladybug didn't call him because, well… she hadn't. What had she said? It couldn't have been because she was talking about Luka. Chat Noir is in love with Ladybug. He doesn't like her that way, why would he care about Luka?

She was really worried about him. She decided she would ask him about everything tomorrow when she saw him again.

But he didn't come back tomorrow.

Or the next day.

Or the day after that…


	10. Chapter 10

Adrien had been absent from school for a few days. Marinette was starting to get incredibly worried. She knew his father was strict, but she'd thought that he'd come to terms with the fact that Adrien wanted to go to school. She hoped that he hadn't found out about his outburst and decided to keep him home because of it.

She walked into the school, and was immediately met with Adrien, and… he was holding hands with some girl she'd never seen before. She thought she felt her heart shatter before when Adrien had said she was just a friend. But this was something completely new. First Chat Noir stops coming to see her, and now Adrien has a new girlfriend. She just wanted her heart to be done breaking.

Adrien turned around and saw her. He smiled and waved at her. Marinette waved back sheepishly before running for the nearest restroom. She locked herself in a stall and started sobbing. She thought that she was finally over him, and that they were truly just friends now. Why was it hurting her so bad to see him with someone else? I mean, for God's sake, it was _Adrien Agreste_ he was bound to get a girlfriend sooner or later.

And of course it wasn't Marinette. It wouldn't ever be Marinette. Especially not now.

"Oh Tikki, how could I have been so stupid? Of course I'm not over Adrien. I couldn't ever be. I don't think my heart will ever be able to stop wanting him."

Tikki peaked out of Marinette's purse, her eyes sad. "Everything that is meant to be works out in the end, Marinette. You have plenty of time to figure out things with Adrien. Just because he's with a girl now doesn't mean they'll be together forever."

Marinette sniffled. "I know, but… he looked so happy. He looks the happiest that I've seen him in a long time."

"Well, you looked the happiest you've looked in a long time with Luka. But you aren't planning on spending the rest of your life with him, are you?"

Marinette blushed. "Of course not. Luka is great, but, I don't think we're meant to be more than friends."

Tikki smiled. "So don't you think perhaps Adrien and that girl are only meant to be friends, too?"

Marinette smiled. "You always know exactly what to say to make me feel better. I love you, Tikki."

Eventually the bell rang. Marinette calmed her breathing thanks to Tikki's instruction, and she left the bathroom. She ran into Alya, who looked angry.

"Who's that new girl and why is she all up in Adrien's personal space?"

Marinette glanced over to Adrien and the mystery girl. They were holding hands walking towards the fencing locker rooms. Marinette offered a sad smile in their direction, and she turned back to Alya

"I don't know. But if she makes Adrien happy, then that's all that matters, right?" she said softly. Alya smiled at her.

"Dang girl, Adrien really doesn't know what an awesome person he's missing out on. I sure hope he figures it out some day," she said, linking arms with Marinette as they walked towards their first class.

Marinette gently squeezed her purse with Tikki inside. "If it is meant to be, then it will be. In its own time."

Until then, Marinette had a right to her own happiness. She didn't have to put her life on hold to wait and see what may or may not happen with Adrien. She was young, and she had all the time in the world. She saw Luka walking down the stairs as they were walking up. She waved and he blew a kiss in her direction, causing her to blush. Alya proceeded to bombard Marinette with questions about Luka for the rest of the day.

During lunch that day, everyone was talking about the new girl and how she and Adrien had practically become a thing overnight. Marinette learned that the new girl was named Kagami. She was a fencer from a prestigious family, and she was joining their school to be a part of the fencing team, since it was one of the most talented fencing teams in all of France. She had taken a quick liking to Adrien because he was a talented fencer, and Adrien had taken a liking to her because her dark hair and stunning eyes reminded him of a certain lady of his.

Marinette was still finding herself saddened every time she saw them laughing together or holding hands over the next few weeks. But Luka made sure to spend as much time as possible with her, often playing a soothing song on his guitar. They'd been spending more and more time together as of late, leaving Marinette very little time to focus on Adrien and Kagami. And Marinette really appreciated Luka's company. He was perfectly aware that her heart belonged to someone else, and he made no efforts to try and sway her towards him. He simply offered his friendship, and Marinette was forever grateful for it. If anything, it made her like him more than she was expecting. She had no idea what to do with herself. She loved Adrien, and she certainly had strong feelings for both Chat Noir and Luka. But now the first two were looking more and more hopeless by the second. She mentally kicked herself for more or less "settling" for Luka, because he deserved so much better than that. He deserved someone that loved him with their whole heart. And Marinette wasn't sure that she could ever offer her whole heart to him, no matter what became of Adrien or Chat Noir.

On a lighter note, love was apparently in the air all over the school, and Marinette's friends were having much better luck than herself. Nino had just returned from a trip with his family, and Alya was absolutely ecstatic. Adrien, too, was excited to see the return of his friend. Because he had never been more confused in his life about girls, and Nino and Alya seemed to have the perfect relationship.

"Hey, Nino!" Adrien called, running up to him and Alya. Alya shot him an angry look and gave Nino a peck on the cheek before walking away. Adrien gave Nino a confused look.

"What was that about?"

Nino rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry dude, I'm under oath. I promised Alya I wouldn't say anything about it."

Adrien's heart pounded. Was it something to do with Marinette? Speaking of which…

Adrien gave Nino a pat on the back. "Hey man, I have a lot of things to run by you. When are you free?"

Nino smiled. "All day, my dude. All day." They made plans to hang out after school so Adrien could tell him all about his latest Marinette drama.

Adrien was so excited when the end of the day rolled around. He gave Kagami a chaste kiss on the cheek and promised her that they would be able to spend more time together later in the week. Then he and Nino hopped into Adrien's car and made their way to the Agreste mansion. Adrien's father was nowhere to be seen, and so they made it to his room with very minimal interactions aside from Nathalie telling him when dinner was going to be.

Adrien flopped down onto the couch in his room and let out a deep sigh.

"Woah, man. Is it that bad?"

Adrien turned to Nino and looked at him with tired eyes. "I've told you about the feelings I have for Ladybug, right?"

Nino laughed. "Yeah, man. You really don't shut up about it, I'm surprised it hasn't leaked to the whole school."

Adrien sighed. "Marinette and I started talking a bit more while you were away. And then… then she told me that she thought she was developing feelings for Luka. After I had overheard her talking to Alya about her feelings for me. So, I thought she was over me."

"And it hurt, didn't it?" Nino asked, finishing Adrien's thoughts for him.

"Yeah," Adrien mumbled. He began twiddling his thumbs. "It hurt a lot more than I was expecting it to, that's what got me. Why should I be so upset about my friend liking someone else romantically?"

"You like her a lot more than as a friend, dude. I know that, Alya knows that. Anyone who's watched you interact with her knows that. There's no sense in denying it, dude."

Adrien sighed again. "And now I'm in this weird limbo with Kagami. I know she likes me, and she's a sweet girl. But I don't like her in that way. The only reason I fell into this weird thing with her was because I thought I had no chance with Marinette. And that's really crappy of me, and I feel so guilty every time she smiles at me. I know I need to break things off with her, I just don't know how."

"Honestly is the best policy, Agreste. You'll be miserable for the rest of your life if you live a lie."

Adrien smiled. "I missed you man."

"Hell yeah, dude. It's good to be home. I'm sorry we couldn't have had this conversation earlier."

Nino pulled Adrien into a hug, and they opted to play a video game until Nathalie called Adrien for dinner.

Around the same time as Nino's return, a new transfer student named Marc had just moved here as well and almost immediately fell into the love pool. Marc had fallen absolutely head-over-heels for Nathanael within the first few days, but Nathanael was too caught up in his latest developments with his comic book series to even notice Marc's existence. It was an absolute delight watching Nathanael stumble all over his words trying to talk to him. Marinette couldn't help but laugh as she watched the two of them sitting on the stairs, flipping through sketches. At one point their hands brushed against each other and they both started blushing like tomatoes.

Marc walked into the classroom, and made for the back row. If there was one thing he knew, it was that he would only survive if he could avoid as much attention as possible. He knew that the Parisian opinion of homosexuality was changing… slowly. Ever so slowly, but he figured that eventually he would be able to meet someone like him.

Though, considering his first interaction was with the rumored Chloe Bourgeois, who called him and his outfit "the most hideous thing she'd ever seen," he wasn't sure that he was going to find what he was looking for at this school. Tears stung his eyes as he scribbled down ideas for his newest stories. The bell rang signaling the end of the day, and Marc had never been more ready to leave a place in his life. He was so quick to leave the school, that he ran right into someone. He inwardly cursed as his sketches fell everywhere. He looked up and was met with kind blue eyes.

"Hey, you're the new student, right? Marc Anciel?"

She offered him a hand in picking up his sketches and handed them back to him.

"My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, and I'm your class representative! I am really sorry that one of your first interactions had to be with Chloe Bourgeois…" she marked the girl's name with a look of disgust. "But I promise you that not everyone here is like that."

Marinette's eyes were drawn to Marc's sketches. He blushed and pulled them closer to his chest.

"You're really talented, Marc. Those sketches are amazing."

His blush deepened. "They're nothing, really. Just doodles is all."

Marinette smiled at him. "Follow me, I think I have something you may be interested in."

Marc followed her to the art room. "Unfortunately club sign-ups won't begin again until next school year, but you're more than welcome to come work in here whenever you like. Actually… you may be interested in partnering with my friend Nathanael! He's been looking for an artist for ages to start up his comic book collection. You'd be perfect!

Marinette called out to a red-headed boy sitting across the room. He made eye contact with Marc, and Marc felt his soul leave his body. He was the most beautiful thing Marc had ever seen, and it was at that moment he knew that he was absolutely gone.

Marinette continued to watch Marc and Nathanael working together. Again, Nathanael leaned in a little too close and she watched Marc's face start to blend into his red jacket, and let out another small laugh. Luka turned to Marinette and smiled.

"Your laugh is like a song that I never want to end," he said, strumming his guitar softly. Marinette felt the blush creeping into her cheeks.

"I never know how to respond to your compliments, Luka…thank you."

He shrugged. "I'm never looking for a response. A girl like you just deserves to be constantly reminded of how beautiful she is."

Marinette looked away, unable to maintain a steady heartbeat. She'd never had someone so blatantly interested in her before, and she still had no idea what to do about it. But she knew that she really enjoyed Luka's company and his intentions were pure. He was only interested in a romantic relationship if the feelings were mutual. And Marinette was finding it increasingly difficult to focus on her feelings for Adrien when Luka said such sweet things to her.

While Adrien and Kagami sat on the bench across the courtyard, Adrien was only half listening to Kagami's talk of her favorite fencing techniques. He was too busy watching Marinette and Luka getting much too comfortable together. He shouldn't care… she had already said she liked him a lot. Adrien had thought he had some sort of chance when he'd seen how sad Marinette looked when she saw he and Kagami together. But that was even worse. Adrien really did like Kagami. She was a sweet girl, and a very talented fencer. But Adrien knew deep down that they weren't meant to be more than friends, and he felt awful for following Kagami along in the relationship so cluelessly when she obviously liked him very much. He didn't want to lead her on anymore. He took a deep breath as he was remembering the conversation he'd had with Nino.

Because Nino was right. He wasn't over Marinette, even if she was over him. He missed her. He missed her in a way he didn't think he would. He missed her affection. He wanted so badly to have it again so he could return it this time. He wished that he hadn't pushed her so far away by insisting they were only friends, when clearly they were meant to be more than that.

They were meant to be. Some force beyond him was continuously drawing him towards Marinette. He didn't know what it was, but somehow he knew that she was the most important person in his life. Even more important than Ladybug…and he had to find some way to get her back.

"I'm sorry Kagami," he started, completely interrupting her story. She looked at him with surprised eyes. "You're really wonderful Kagami, but… I'm still in love with someone else. And I don't want to hurt you like that. I can't do this anymore."


	11. Chapter 11

Kagami's face fell. "Oh," she said. "It's okay Adrien, I understand."

She squeezed his hand and kissed him on the cheek. "I hope you find what you're looking for with Marinette."

With that, she stood up and walked towards the locker rooms. Adrien knew he'd probably lost her as a friend too, at least for a little while. But he knew in the end she understood that he needed to do this.

He stood up and was going to make his way across the courtyard, but he should have seen this coming. Even if Kagami had said that she completely understood, Adrien knew that he had hurt her more than she'd ever say. Shortly after Kagami left, she had been akumatized by Hawkmoth.

She became Heart Breaker. Her anger grew with every happy couple she saw, and she turned everyone in her way into stone. She wouldn't stop until she was face to face with Marinette…the girl who'd stolen the heart of the boy she loved. Luka had thrown himself in front of Marinette, blocking her blow and he was turned to stone in front of her. Marinette cried out and turned to run to the nearest restroom, locker room, _something_. She had to transform, and fast.

But Heart Breaker was faster. She leapt in front of Marinette before she could react, and she shoved Marinette down to the ground. But she didn't turn her to stone. Instead Heart Breaker just stood over her.

"You've taken everything from me, Marinette. And so now I'm going to take everything from you. First, I took your precious Luka. Now I'm going to take everything else. Your parents, your friends, your precious Adrien… you'll have nothing left in this world that loves you."

Marinette looked up at Heart Breaker with terrified eyes. Suddenly, out of nowhere Chat appeared behind her. He extended his baton and used it to swat Heart Breaker away before scooping Marinette up. He pressed the button on his baton again, shrinking it and immediately extending it and themselves upwards, vaulting them to safety. They eventually landed on a rooftop somewhere a few blocks away from the school. It had lot's of furniture that Marinette could hide under until the akuma was taken care of.

"Are you alright, Princess?" he asked, spinning her around to check for injuries. Marinette looked at him dumbfounded. This was the first time she'd seen him in almost two months as Marinette. She wondered if he was still too upset to talk to her outside of this conversation.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," she finally stammered. Chat smiled at her.

"You should be safe here, Princess. Find somewhere to hide and I'll come back to get you when it is safe."

Marinette nodded as Chat leapt away. Her heart was thumping uncontrollably. She really had to get a grip on her emotions. Anyway…

"Tikki, spots on!"

Marinette shot her yoyo in the direction of the chaos and flew across Paris, keeping an eye out for Heart Breaker and Chat Noir. Eventually she found the two of them in a stand off a few blocks away from the school, and she landed next to Chat Noir, spinning her yoyo to deflect any shots Heart Breaker tried to throw at her.

"Purrfect timing, m'lady," Chat teased, blocking one of Heart Breaker's shots with his baton. "I've already used up my cataclysm to get myself out from under a car… this akuma is strong, and she turns people into stone. I have no idea how to stop her. Any ideas on where her akuma might be?"

Ladybug stared at the akuma and thought for a moment. Nothing really stuck out except for… the crest on her uniform. The school was where she'd met Adrien, so surely it had some emotional value to her. It must be where the akuma was hiding.

"It has to be in her crest!" Ladybug called out. She used her lucky charm and came up with a mirror. She knew exactly what to do with this.

"Chat Noir, stop spinning your baton!"

He turned and looked at her, baffled. "Are you crazy?!"

"Just trust me!"

Chat sighed and lowered his baton. Seeing her chance, Heart Breaker took a shot and Ladybug jumped in front of Chat Noir with her mirror. She reflected the shot back to Heart Breaker. She turned to stone, allowing them to rip the badge off of her uniform and smash it, releasing the akuma.

Ladybug released the cleansed akuma and her miraculous cleansing light.

"Awesome job, m'lady." Chat Noir's miraculous beeped, and he looked down at his ring. "I'd love to stick around, but I have to go find a friend and make sure she's safe. Plus," he added with a wink. "Wouldn't want to send you swooning with the revelation of my secret identity, mon amour."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Catch you around, kitty!"

Her face fell when he was out of sight. _Crap, he's going to get me_ , she thought. She hoped that him having to detransform and allow his kwami to regain some strength before going to find Marinette would buy her enough time to help Kagami. She ran over to her, and she was laying on the ground. Kagami sat up with a groan and Ladybug knelt down next to her.

"Are you alright?" Ladybug asked, resting a hand on Kagami's shoulder. Kagami just stared at her with wide eyes before giving a blank nod. Ladybug was interrupted by her earrings.

"Oh, gosh, that's my cue!" Ladybug said, standing up and swinging her yoyo. "Bug out!" she gave Kagami a quick salute before tossing her yoyo towards the direction of where Chat left her. Kagami simply stared after her, lost and confused, and in awe of the polka-dotted hero.

Ladybug swung herself halfway across Paris and detransformed just in time for Chat Noir to arrive. He always was one to take his precious time when doing things, so she really shouldn't have been as worried as she was. She laughed to herself.

"Everything is alright now, Mari. Would you like me to take you home?"

"Actually…" she started thoughtfully. "I really need to get back to school. I want to make sure Luka is okay."

She remembered how he had thrown himself in front of her to protect her from the akuma. She hoped he hadn't gotten too hurt. Chat smirked in an effort to hide the pain in his eyes. He knew he'd have to face this topic sooner or later. "So, are you and Luka _official_ then?"

Marinette blushed. "I… I don't know. I don't know…"

All of a sudden Marinette burst into tears. Unsure of what caused it, Chat Noir just pulled Marinette into a tight hug and held her until she had stopped crying.

"Princess?" He asked. "What's wrong?"

Marinette looked up at him with scared eyes. "I'm so confused, Chat Noir… I really like Luka. He's really sweet, and he cares a lot about me but… I just can't get over Adrien."

Chat Noir's heart leapt. She… she still liked him? After all the things she'd seen him do over the past few weeks, her heart… still belonged to him. Marinette sniffled in his arms and his attention was brought back to her.

"And seeing him with Kagami broke me in a new way that I didn't think I could be broken. But it hurt a lot. And I feel so terrible about still liking Adrien, because Luka cares for me so much and I don't want to hurt him. I just want this all to be over!"

Marinette's body shook with sobs all over again. Chat Noir rubbed her back and whispered soft words of comfort to her.

"You know, Princess… you need to do what makes you happy."

"Oh wait, it gets even worse…" Marinette began, her voice hiccupping between her sobs. "Because… there's you, too. But Adrien loves Kagami. And you love Ladybug. And I don't have a chance with either of you! But I can't let go of you, no matter how hard I try."

Chat Noir mentally kicked himself. He remembered her saying she thought she had minimal feelings for Chat Noir, but he didn't think that they had developed so much. He hated watching Marinette cry because she thought she wasn't good enough for him or his alter ego. She was more than good enough for either of them, and she didn't deserve to feel this way.

"Marinette listen to me," Chat Noir said softly. "I think you're absolutely lovely. And I'm going to tell you what I would do if I were you…"

Marinette looked up at him again, eyes wet with tears and cheeks flushed.

"Tomorrow, find Adrien. Tell him how you feel. Exactly how you feel. Either he reciprocates your feelings and things start anew, or he confirms that he'd rather stay friends, and you won't feel guilty about liking Luka anymore."

"I always stumble around him…"

Chat Noir grabbed Marinette's shoulders and looked at her with an intensity she'd never seen before.

"Marinette, you are responsible for your own happiness. If you want to be happy, you have to take charge. Tell Adrien Agreste how you feel, and all of this can be over."

Marinette nodded. "Okay." Chat loosened his grip on Marinette's shoulders, and she looked away from him.

She opened her mouth, but then paused, deep in thought. Then she opened her mouth again. "Why did you stop coming to visit me, Chat Noir?"

Chat Noir frowned. "I'm really sorry about that, Princess. I just had a lot going on at home. I didn't want to accidentally set you as the butt of my frustrations," he lied. How was he supposed to tell her that he was jealous of her and Luka when he saw them spending so much time together without giving away his secret identity? He hated having to lie to Marinette, but there was nothing else he could do right now.

Marinette pulled him into a hug. "I missed you, Chat Noir."

He hugged back even tighter. "I missed you too, Princess."

"Even if you don't love me the same way you love Ladybug, I'm still grateful to have you as my friend."

Chat gave her a soft smile. "I never said that I didn't love you the same way I love Ladybug, though, did I?"

With that, he gave his signature salute. "I'm out, princess. and vaulted himself across Paris. Marinette thought she was going to faint. Had… had Chat Noir _really_ just said what she thought he said?


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, Marinette woke up incredibly late. She flailed about her room pulling on clothes and getting her books into her bag. She ran out of the bakery and to the school as quickly as she could. It was almost time for the third class of the day. Marinette had really wanted to talk to Adrien before classes, but she supposed that she would have to track him down at lunch instead. He usually ate lunch rather quickly so he could get to his fencing class early, so Marinette figured she would meet him there.

When the lunch period began, Marinette made her way across the school to the locker rooms. She sat down on a bench and absent-mindedly played with her phone, waiting for Adrien.

"Tikki, do you think he'll think it is weird that I'm waiting for him in here?" Marinette asked, getting more anxious by the second. Tikki popped out of Marinette's purse and shook her head.

"I think you should trust Chat Noir, Marinette. He knows more than you think he does."

Marinette shot Tikki a raised brow. "What are you hiding from me Tikki?"

Tikki smiled. "I can't tell you that! You'll have to figure it out for yourself."

Before Marinette could respond, the door opened, and she turned to see Adrien walking in. He blushed when he saw her, and Marinette was sure that her blush was even worse.

"H-hey Marinette. What are you doing here?" he asked, trying to keep the nervousness out of his voice. He was pleasantly surprised to see that she had actually taken Chat Noir's advice.

She stood up and walked over to where Adrien stood by the lockers. "Adrien, I need to tell you something." She took a deep breath, but before she could speak…

 _Crash_

The ceiling had collapsed, and the lockers toppled on to them. Adrien's knee-jerk reaction was to grab Marinette and launch themselves towards the benches. The lockers fell over so that they landed on top of the benches, leaving a small gap of space where they could lay without being crushed by the lockers or debris. Unfortunately, large amounts of cement had fallen on either side of the lockers. So, crawling out was not an option. Marinette and Adrien both desperately pushed up against the lockers, but it was no use. The debris must be plentiful on top of them as well.

They were trapped. Absolutely, undeniably trapped. There was absolutely no way out. At least, not as themselves now. Marinette was starting to panic next to him.

 _We have to get out of here_ Adrien thought. There was obviously an akuma, and he had to get Marinette to safety and himself to the akuma, so he could help Ladybug. _I have to transform, and I_ have _to do it now_. _There is no other way_. In the dark, he saw Plagg peaking out of his shirt pocket. He had worried eyes, but Plagg gave him a curt nod. That was all he needed to know that this was what he had to do. He took a deep breath. He had to do this now, in front of her. Nobody was supposed to know, but it was either this, or let all of Paris be destroyed. He was sure he could trust Marinette; she'd never tell another soul what she knew, especially if he asked her to promise him that she wouldn't.

He turned to Marinette, who was still hopelessly pushing against the lockers, her panicking getting worse. _There's an akuma, and I'm stuck under a giant pile of debris with no way out. Even if I did transform, which I can't, because Adrien Agreste is here, my lucky charm wouldn't be able to produce anything that could get me out of this. I'd need Chat Noir's cataclysm. He'll never find me here. I'll be trapped down here and the akuma is going to wreak all sorts of havoc-_

Marinette was pulled out of her spiral by Adrien calling her name. "Marinette, calm down. You have to calm down. Deep breaths. In and out."

Marinette took a deep breath and once again tried pushing up against the lockers.

"Marinette, it's no use," he said softly, pulling her arms towards him. "But I can get us out of this."

Marinette turned to him, giving him a confused look. In the dim light that was managing to filter through all the debris, she could see Adrien was looking at her intensely, and it was making her more nervous. Her heart was pounding uncontrollably, and she just wanted to get out from under these lockers. There was an akuma and she needed to go help Chat Noir.

"Marinette, I trust you. I need you to promise me that what you see right now will never leave this room. Please."

Marinette remained silent, but she nodded her head. The pieces were beginning to fit together, suddenly. Everything she ever understood about Adrien and Chat Noir were colliding. _There is no way that what I think is happening is happening_.

"Plagg," Adrien whispered. "Claws out."

Marinette's breath hitched. _It's happening_.

In a moment, Adrien had turned into Chat Noir. Right in front of her eyes. She had stopped breathing. Chat Noir shook her, and she came to, her eyes still wide with shock. Unsure of how to take her reaction, Chat Noir slid to one side of the fallen lockers. He shouted "Cataclysm!" before disintegrating the debris on the left side. This made a small opening, allowing him to crawl out. He pulled out his baton and extended it, lifting the lockers up higher so Marinette could get out easier.

Marinette still hadn't said a word.

"I know this is a lot to take in Mari, but I promise it is all okay. I don't want you to think of me any differently now that you know this about me. Now come on, we need to get you somewhere safe."

Chat turned to walk away, but he was stopped by Marinette grabbing his hand. She was still looking at him in complete disbelief, but this time she didn't stay silent.

"Tikki. Spots on."

Then the two of them were left standing there, mouths agape. Time stopped, and they just stood there staring at each other. Eventually, it was Chat Noir who spoke again.

"My… my lady? Marinette…?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know..." she said, her voice dropping. "Disappointing. Come on kitty, we've got an akuma to catch."

Before he could protest her comment, Ladybug took off out of the room and out of the school.

The akuma was big. One of the biggest things they'd ever fought. It appeared as though a coach driver had been akumatized, because a gigantic robot made of the city buses was going on a rampage through the city, leaving complete destruction in its wake.

Marinette's eyes darted back and forth, trying to think of a plan. But she was so frazzled over everything that just happened that she couldn't think. She fell to her knees and screamed out in frustration.

"This is why I didn't want anyone to know!" she cried out, and she began to sob uncontrollably. Chat Noir knelt down next to her and pulled her into a hug.

"Come on, my ring is beeping. We need to go somewhere nobody can see us so I can retransform. We'll think of a plan, I know we will."

He pulled Ladybug up to her feet and they ran into the nearest subway station. Adrien ensured that there was nobody else around before he detransformed and threw Plagg a piece of cheese. Ladybug opted to stay transformed since she hadn't used her Lucky charm yet.

"I'm no good as a super hero… Marinette Dupain-Cheng is no super hero. She never has been, and she never will be."

Suddenly, Adrien grabbed her by the shoulders, earning a shocked gasp from her. "Don't you dare insult the love of my life like that," he said, his voice intense. "Whether you're Marinette or whether you're Ladybug, you are everyone's superhero. You do so many things for everyone, and Paris wouldn't still be in one piece if you weren't here to save all of us."

Without thinking, Adrien kissed her. She blushed furiously and still did not say anything in response.

"You're my hero, my lady. You always have been since the very first day you put on that suit. You were my mystery girl, and you saved me in ways I didn't know I needed saving. And I will _never_ be able to repay you for that."

With that, Adrien offered her his hand.

"Please, my lady. I can't do this without you."

Ladybug slowly reached out to grab Adrien's hand. He gave her a soft smile. She responded with the usual fire in her eyes than Adrien was so in love with. "I have an idea."

Adrien laughed. "That's my girl. Plagg, claws out!"

With that, the two of them ran out of the subway station with Ladybug shouting out her plan. Just the way it always was.

"Chat, you chase after it and get in front of it. Extend your baton and trip the robot. I'll use my lucky charm and get into the top bus and take care of the akuma."

Chat winked. "Excellent plan, m'lady. I'll meet you over there!"

With that, Chat vaulted himself across the city after the villain. Ladybug threw her yoyo out and swung after him. Eventually she landed a block away from the monster. She saw the glint of Chat Noir's baton in the sunlight, and a moment later the akuma was downed in the street.

"Lucky charm!"

A smoke bomb fell into her hand, and she swung down to the akuma. Chat Noir used his baton to shatter the glass of the bus window and Ladybug landed inside. Before the akuma could even react to her, she threw down the smoke bomb. But not before catching a glimpse of the hat the coach driver was wearing. In the confusion, she ran through the smoke and grabbed the hat, tearing it in half. The akuma was released. She cleansed the akuma and released her miraculous cleansing light, and Paris was left without a scratch, as usual.

Before taking off, Ladybug knelt next to the coach driver and ensured that he was alright. Her earrings beeping warned her that she was about to transform back, and she got ready to take off. But before she could, Chat Noir grabbed her arm. She stopped and turned to him. Her eyes showed sadness again, as though she didn't want to face Chat Noir alone.

"Please stay, my lady. We have a few things to talk about, don't you think?"

Ladybug took a deep breath and gave him an affirmative nod. Chat Noir grabbed her and pulled her close before he vaulted them off to the top of the Eiffel Tower. The moment they landed they both detransformed, leaving Marinette and Adrien standing there staring at each other.


	13. Chapter 13

They stood there and just stared in silence for what felt like ages. Eventually, Adrien spoke. "I feel like… I feel like I should have expected this from you, Marinette," he said, laughing. "Now that I know that you're Ladybug, everything makes sense. You truly are everyone's hero, whether you are in or out of your costume."

Marinette blushed. "I'm really nothing special, Adrien. Even when I am Ladybug. I'm just trying to do what's right, and what is good for all of Paris. You're definitely the more amazing one. Despite all of your struggles you never lose faith in the goodness of the world, and you always fight with everything you've got."

Adrien stared at Marinette with so much love in his eyes. It was a while before he remembered how to speak. He grabbed her hands and pulled her closer to him. Marinette stared up at him with deep blue eyes, and a soft blush coloring her cheeks. Their breaths mingled as their lips slowly got closer and closer.

"I love you, Marinette."

And then, he cupped her cheek and pulled her into another kiss. It was long and sweet, and for a moment Marinette couldn't think. She was sure that all of this had to be a dream, and there was no way that the love of her life was kissing her right now. Adrien pulled back to see Marinette blushing more furiously than he'd ever seen before, and he laughed again.

"Well, you beat me to it anyway…" Marinette said with a soft laugh. "I was just about to tell you about how much I loved you before we almost got crushed to death by lockers."

Adrien smiled. "I'm just glad you were following my advice."

"I'm just glad you and Chat Noir turned out to be the same person," Marinette laughed. "I wasn't sure how I was going to choose between the two of you."

Just then, Tikki and Plagg flew rapidly around their respective holders, laughing.

"It took you two long enough to figure it out," Plagg said, yawning. "I expected it from Adrien, but I thought Marinette would have figured it out sooner."

"Might I remind you that the identities are _supposed_ to remain secret?" Tikki warned. But she gave Adrien and Marinette a pleasant smile. "Though, I think the intention was that you two would find out eventually."

The two of them looked between their two kwamis. "What are you saying, Tikki?" Marinette asked first, intrigued. Tikki and Plagg flew playfully around their owners, laughing.

It was Plagg who answered. "It's always safer to keep your identities secret. Once one person knows, it suddenly becomes a lot easier for everyone to figure it out, whether it be on purpose or by accident."

Tikki nodded. "And you should definitely tell Master Fu that you've revealed your identities to each other now. If we've learned anything over the years, it is that that man absolutely hates surprises. But I don't think he'll be upset. He chose you two to be the miraculous holders for a reason, you know." Tikki said, smiling.

Marinette raised a curious brow. "And what might that reason be?"

"He knew you two were made for each other, and he knew that you'd make the perfect Ladybug and Chat Noir pair."

"The _purrfect_ pair?" Adrien repeated. Marinette rolled her eyes, but she couldn't hide the blush that crept into her cheeks. She and Adrien were… made for each other? Yeah, that did sound right, didn't it?

"We are not going to be using the cat puns out of the costume, Monsieur Agreste."

Adrien began to fake pout. "None at all, m'lady?" Marinette couldn't help but laugh at him.

"Adrien Agreste, you're ridiculous… maybe I can make a few exceptions though."

Without thinking, Adrien pulled Marinette in for another kiss. They proceeded to sit down next to each other and watch Paris from above. They talked for hours, reminiscing over their past akuma fights now that they knew who the other was.

"Honestly, it makes sense how much Ladybug did NOT like Chloe for those first few months. I know she rubs most people the wrong way, but you _really_ didn't like her."

Marinette shrugged. "She's gotten better. I think now that we're getting older, she's starting to realize how childish she's been all these years."

"And, all those times you flirted with me? Even though they were fake, it was nice to pretend they were real."

Marinette blushed and hid her face in her hands. "Oh, don't remind me. Those were my darkest hours."

Adrien winked. "I thought you were cute."

Marinette playfully bumped his shoulder. "At least I don't flirt in puns like _some of us_."

"Hey, it's part of my charm."

"Oh, is that what they call it?"

Adrien laughed. "I'm wounded, my lady."

"But I do have to say… I see lots of you in Chat Noir. You may act a little sillier, which I don't mind as much as I claim, but you can still see how you care with your whole heart. And you always respected my wishes, even when it hurt you."

Marinette looked up at Adrien with soft eyes. "That's really admirable of you, Adrien. But I wish you wouldn't put everyone else's happiness above your own. You deserve to be as happy as the rest of us." Marinette looked away, blushing slightly. "And I daresay you deserve it even more than the rest of us with a heart as pure as yours."

Adrien cupped Marinette's cheek softly and pulled her face towards him. "I was such an idiot for so long. I think I drove Plagg nuts. All this time I spent longing after you. Ever since my first day at school, I just thought my attachment was so strong because you were one of my first friends that I made on my own. But… I should have known that you were different."

Adrien paused for a moment. "You were special. You are special."

Marinette stayed silent, so Adrien kept talking. "I've never seen someone work so hard to make the people around her happy. I've never met someone who cared so strongly and tried so hard to make everything right in the world. I've never met someone so ready and willing to stand in the face of evil and injustice to fight for what's right. From being our class representative to being _the_ miraculous Ladybug, I've been absolutely floored by your grace, your beauty, and your compassion."

Adrien took a deep breath and leaned in to kiss Marinette on the forehead before he pressed their foreheads together and continued speaking. "And I should have known that I was falling deeper and deeper in love with you with each passing day, but I was so blinded by my infatuations with what I thought Ladybug was. I was so lost in my fantasies that I couldn't see that what I wanted… what I needed was right in front of me all this time."

Adrien laughed. "Or if we're talking specifically, behind me, I suppose."

Marinette wasn't sure when the tears had started, but suddenly Adrien's hands were on her face wiping them away. "I know that you've spent a lot of time thinking that you aren't good enough for me. And I want you to know that you've never been more wrong about anything in your life. Because, my lady, you're absolutely _perfect_ for me."

The afternoon slowly turned to evening, and lights began to pepper the city below like candles.

"Well, as much as I want this evening to go on forever, it's getting pretty late. We should probably get off of here at some point." Marinette said, standing up. She really _really_ never wanted this night to end. Marinette was sure this was all a dream and she was about to wake up. But Adrien had already pinched her three times, and she wasn't really looking for a fourth.

"Shall I escort you home, my lady?" Adrien asked, offering his arm after standing up himself. "I can text my body guard and he can come give us a ride."

Marinette smiled. "Aw, come on kitty. Don't you want to escort me home the super hero way?"

Adrien smirked. He looked around to make sure that they were still alone.

"Plagg, claws out!"

He picked up a giggling Marinette and vaulted them both towards her home.

But they hadn't looked close enough. Of course, there was no way that they could have. But…the top of the Eiffel Tower was not as private as they'd thought. Not as private as they'd hoped.

 _Someone_ was always watching.

The clacking of heels echoed through a cold dome above the Agreste mansion.

An icy voice spoke. "Duusu. De-transform me."


	14. Chapter 14

Chat Noir landed gently on Marinette's balcony, and set her down. He detransformed, and Tikki and Plagg flew off with each other again. Marinette and Adrien smiled after their kwamis.

"This all feels so surreal," Adrien said. "I feel like my life has been revolving around Ladybug for so long, and all this time she sat behind me in class. It's crazy."

Marinette smiled at him. "Well, I wasn't exactly expecting you to be Chat Noir either. I had no idea you were such a huge flirt, Agreste," she teased. "Though, I do have to say the puns have grown on me since we first started working together."

"They're the cat's meow, wouldn't you say?"

Marinette couldn't stop the giggle that escaped her lips. She felt like she was floating on some sort of high, and she never wanted to come down. The love of her life was standing here, in front of her. _Talking_ to her. He reciprocated her feelings. He… he loved her too. It was all so surreal.

"So, making you fall madly in love with me was all it took to make you laugh at one of my puns?"

"Don't get used to it," Marinette teased. "They're usually really bad."

"Nonsense. They're purrfect."

"It's even worse when you aren't in the suit."

"Ouch, princess."

Marinette could only smile, the lights of Paris reflecting in her blue irises. Adrien met her gaze, and blushed. "You really do have the most beautiful Bluebell eyes."

Marinette smiled. "And your hair really does shine like the sun. Even in the moonlight."

Adrien's eyes widened. "It was you who answered my poem!"

Marinette laughed. "So, I guess I really _didn't_ sign it. Alya still won't let me live that down to this day. Though, maybe now that we have, um, worked this whole thing out, she'll go easy on me?"

Then it both dawned on them. "Um, what _do_ we tell everyone? I don't think it is going to bode well for keeping the whole super hero thing a secret if I tell everyone you fell in love with me after I transformed into Chat Noir in front of your very eyes."

Marinette rolled her eyes. "You're so dramatic. We don't have to tell them any big stores, we just tell them how it is. We have both been acting like huge idiots for months. We finally sat down and talked about our feelings and realized we'd had so much anxiety over nothing, because we both were interested in the same thing."

Marinette smiled up at him. "You're so smart, Marinette. I'm seriously never going to understand how I was so oblivious to the fact that you're Ladybug."

"I'm never going to understand that either, nor am I going to let you forget how dumb you were about it," Plagg said, pausing mid-flight before he resumed flying around them with Tikki. Marinette smirked.

"He's right; you were pretty dumb about everything. We both were. To think I'd convinced myself that I was over my feelings for you. And then I saw you with Kagami and everything came flooding back. _God,_ if I just knew how to talk to people I'd have no problems."

Marinette leaned against her railing with her chin resting in her hands. Chat looked nervously at the ground. "Can I tell you a secret?"

"Shoot."

"I started dating Kagami because I was jealous of you and Luka. I also… stopped coming to see you because I was jealous of you and Luka."

Marinette burst out laughing. "Adrien Agreste? _Jealous_? Oh, I don't even believe it." The laughter fell from Marinette's face when he saw how serious he looked. "Sorry mon minou, I didn't mean to laugh at you. It's just hard to believe that I did something to make _you_ jealous, when I was the one who was head over heels for you all that time."

Adrien shrugged. "It was sort of just a double slap to the face. Ladybug always rejected my advances because her heart belonged to someone else. I mean, of course now I realize that it was still _me_ , but it still hurt at the time. Maybe it still does even now... I've always worried that the superhero persona of mine isn't something that someone could ever love."

Marinette's heart broke. "Adrien, you know Paris adores you. Myself more than anyone."

Adrien continued without regarding her statement. "And then when you and Luka started spending more time together it felt like I'd lost my chances with you too. And it sucked, because with Ladybug it was so much mystery and infatuation that was easier to bury. But with you… I really _knew_ you and what you were like, and it hurt that much more when I realized that I couldn't be with you."

Marinette's face was painted with shock. "I… I'm so sorry, Adrien. I had no idea."

Without speaking, Adrien pulled Marinette into a bone-crushing hug. "You always say that it's you who isn't good enough for me, but in reality, it's always been the other way around."

Marinette hushed him and ran her fingers through his hair. "Don't you dare say things like that. You're an incredible hero and an incredible human in general, and you've always been worthy of the very best."

She kissed his head softly as he hugged her tighter, willing the tears that so desperately wanted to fall to go away.

"I love you, Marinette."

Marinette beamed as she wrapped her arms around his head, pulling him closer to her. "I love you too, Adrien. More than you'll ever know."

They stood there like that for several more minutes. Eventually Adrien pulled away and wiped the tears out of his eyes. Marinette ruffled his hair as she pulled out her phone to check the time.

"You should get home, mon minou. It's getting really late." Marinette leaned over to give Adrien a kiss on the cheek. "Let me know when you've made it home safely, si vou plait?"

Adrien leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss on the lips. "Will do, my lady. Thank you… thank you for everything."

He gave his signature salute before transforming into Chat Noir again and vaulting off towards the Agreste mansion. Marinette leaned against her balcony and stared wistfully after him until he was out of sight. She then proceeded to go into her room and get ready for bed. She fell into a peaceful sleep with a smile on her face, and the feeling of Adrien Agreste's lips kissing her own softly. She hoped to God that when she woke up tomorrow this would all still be real.

The next day the school was in an uproar, mostly because everyone was so excited that Adrien and Marinette were _finally_ dating. Even Chloe seemed to be not as annoyed as she was expected to be. Adrien waved sheepishly towards Kagami, but she was continuing to give him the cold shoulder since he'd broken up with her. Marinette gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Just give her some time. She'll be your friend again before you know it."

In the meantime, Marinette had her own wounds to attempt to heal. Though, she'd told Luka since the beginning that she had a major crush on Adrien, and he respected that and didn't have any expectations other than friendship.

But this conversation had not gone as smoothly as she'd hoped.

She bumped into Luka that morning before Adrien arrived. She had gotten to school early for once because she had a few things she wanted to drop off in the art club. He gave her a warm smile, and she returned it. Though, she felt sick to her stomach because she knew what she was going to tell him was probably not going to be kind to him.

"So, Marinette, have you thought any more about letting me take you to that Jagged Stone concert next month?"

Marinette took a deep breath and looked up at Luka with sad eyes. "Actually, Luka, um… Adrien and I have been talking a lot the past few days, about what we want. And… we've started officially seeing each other."

Marinette's heart shattered as she watched tears well in Luka's eyes. "Luka, I'm really sorry, I—"

Luka placed a gentle hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Do not apologize for realizing your happiness, Marinette. You're a great friend and your happiness will always come first."

Luka looked away from her and drew himself away. "But… I'm going to need some time apart from you for a while. I hope you understand."

Without waiting for an answer, Luka turned and walked away from her. Marinette felt absolutely terrible, and if it weren't for Adrien walking up behind her and pulling her into a warm hug, she was sure she would have burst into tears.

"I'd be a little upset if I'd just lost my chances with someone as wonderful as you too, Marinette. But like you told me, time heals all wounds. He'll be back before you know it."

And unlike Kagami, Luka did not allow his sadness to overcome him. He was never akumatized, and Marinette was proud of him for being able to handle himself with such good composure. She hoped she'd be able to tell him that someday.

Of course, Marinette was not left much time to mourn the momentary loss of a dear friend, because her entire class was ecstatic. Even Mrs. Bustier was pleased to find out that Adrien and Marinette had officially began dating. When Adrien walked into class, Nino immediately ran up to him and gave him a high five before just pulling him into a bone-crushing hug.

"My dude! You finally did it! Oh man, I thought I was gonna have to start doing some of that ear-piece-in-the-bushes nonsense you were pulling when I had a crush on Marinette all that time ago."

Adrien laughed. "You still owe me for that, by the way.

When Marinette walked in she was immediately bombarded by all her friends. Alya, Juleka, Rose, Mylene, Alix, and Nathanael all crowded her, asking her all sorts of questions.

"When did you start dating?"

"Who asked who?"

"Have you kissed yet?"

"Have you _made out_ yet?"

"Have you met Gabriel Agreste yet? Does he approve?"

"Has he met your parents?"

"Guys, please!" Marinette shouted, unable to contain her laughter. "I don't really have any answers for your questions… everything just sort of fell into place after a while. There's no dramatic, romantic scenes. It just… happened. And now we're here."

Alya sighed, a smile on her face. "I knew he was going to see what he was missing out on. Was I right, or was I right?"

The bell rang, and Mrs. Bustier let everyone mutter amongst themselves for a few more minutes before directing everyone back to their seats to begin the day's lesson.

After that, students seemed to calm down. Marinette didn't see much of Luka for the rest of the day, and she saw too much of Kagami giving her a death glare. She really hoped she didn't get anyone akumatized because of this. If Adrien wasn't so famous it would be different, but she was sure that many of his fans would be heartbroken to hear of his new relationship. Hawkmoth would be sure to take advantage of all those negative emotions.

Marinette was so lost in thought that it took Adrien shaking her by the shoulders to get her to come to.

"Mari? Are you in there? I'm worried about you, bugaboo."

Marinette shook her head. "I'm fine. Just a little worried. You don't think people are really that… _upset_ about us, do you?"

Adrien shrugged. "I doubt it. But even if they are, who cares? Your happiness comes first."

"I don't want to induce an akuma attack."

Adrien rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Even if anything does happen, we'll be able to take care of it. Don't worry so much, princess. Everything is going to be fine." Adrien grabbed her hands and held them in his own. "We're always going to be here to protect each other. Everything will always work out in the end."

Marinette smiled and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. She turned to see all of her friends on the other side of the table with their phones aimed at them. Marinette rolled her eyes. "How much longer are you guys going to keep all of this up?"

"Are you kidding, girl?" Alya asked, snapping pictures at the speed of light. "You have no idea how long we've been waiting for this. We aren't going anywhere for a while."

Marinette shook her head, but she couldn't hide the smile on her face as she and Adrien sat down with all of their friends.


	15. Chapter 15

The end of the day finally rolled around. Adrien caught up with Marinette as she was walking out of the school. "Hey, Mari. I was thinking of walking by Master Fu's today so we can let him know what's going on. Would you like to accompany me?"

Marinette looked around to see that his body guard wasn't here. And as though he read her mind, "I told him that I was studying with a friend after school and that I would text him when I needed a ride home."

Marinette smiled. "Sure, I wouldn't mind a walk. It's a nice day, and I really don't feel like starting my homework yet."

Adrien offered his arm to Marinette, and she linked hers with his own. They started down the street and had barely made it to the end of the block when they heard the incessant Chloe Bourgeois running up behind them.

Adrien and Marinette turned to face her. She took a deep breath before turning to Marinette. "You know how I feel about you, Dupain-Cheng. Or, how I've felt about you in the past."

Marinette gave a curt nod, crossing her arms over her chest. She met Chloe with a face that communicated her complete and utter disinterest in the girl standing in front of her. "And I'm sure you understand that the feelings are mutual."

Chloe regarded both of them before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing. "I only want what's best for Mr. Agreste, and I'm certain that he'd only ever find that with me."

Marinette scoffed and moved to walk away, but she was stopped by Chloe grabbing her hands and pulling her back. For once in her life, Chloe was looking at Marinette with sincere… kindness in her eyes.

"But I know it will never be me, so… I'm glad that it could be you, Marinette."

Marinette was absolutely floored. She had never heard Chloe say nice things about anyone, especially not herself. Chloe gave Marinette kisses on either cheek before releasing her hands and stepping back. "I'm declaring a truce, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Take good care of Adrien for me. He deserves nothing but the best."

Chloe turned and gave Adrien a kiss on either cheek as well. Before either of them could respond to her sudden change of heart, Chloe turned around and headed back towards the school.

Marinette turned to Adrien, mouth agape. "Did that seriously just happen?"

Adrien laughed as he regarded Chloe with fond eyes as she walked away. "I told you… she isn't all bad. She's a lot of bad, but not all."

Marinette huffed a short laugh, and turned to look at Adrien. "At least we have the Queen's blessing now," she said. She turned to look after Chloe as well, her eyes still clouded with some disbelief. "I still refuse to believe she's anything but a brat, but…" Marinette took a deep breath. "Perhaps this is a new beginning for her. I hope that she finds being nice isn't as bad as she always expected it to be."

Adrien turned to Marinette and smiled. "That's very mature of you, Marinette. I know you and Chloe have never really gotten along."

Marinette snorted. "That's the understatement of the year. She's made school miserable for me ever since we were kids. She's never once looked at me with anything but utter disgust. I'd never even looked in her direction before and she'd singled me out."

Adrien rested a reassuring hand on Marinette's shoulder. "I'm sorry you had to go through all of that on your own. But, now you have all of your friends behind you every step of the way. And I think now that we're in high school, Chloe is starting to realize that it isn't as easy as treating the people beneath you like dirt to get what you want in life. I'm proud of the steps she's taking. She's definitely a lot better than she was when we were younger."

Marinette remained silent. After a few moments, Adrien reached down and grabbed Marinette's hand. "Shall we get going, then?"

Marinette smiled and gave an affirmative nod, and they continued their way to Master Fu's home.

They had eventually made their way to the other side of town. It was Adrien's first time at Master Fu's home, so he was a little nervous. Marinette lightly rubbed his arm before stepping forward and lightly knocking on his door. There was no answer.

Marinette frowned. "This is odd. He's usually home at this time of day."

She twisted the doorknob to find it unlocked. She crept inside. Everything looked untouched, so perhaps he was in a back room and hadn't heard her knock. As she walked into the room, she felt her food land on something and immediately stepped back. She looked down to see Master Fu's bracelet on the floor. She gasped and immediately scooped it up.

"This is his miraculous."

Marinette immediately ran over towards the record player, Tikki flying out of the purse.

"Marinette, I sense a disturbance. The kwami are all here but something has gone wrong. They're trying to tell me something."

Tikki looked up at Marinette. "I think Plagg and I need to go inside. Take off your earrings and put on Master Fu's miraculous. See if Wayzz is still in there."

Without waiting for a response from Marinette or Adrien, Plagg and Tikki took off into the top of the record player and were gone. Marinette fumbled to get the bracelet on, and to her great relief, Wayzz immediately appeared in front of them.

"Wayzz! What is going on? Where is Master Fu?"

Wayzz shook his head, dazed. "I… I don't know. One moment we were talking and the next minute he was panicking. He turned out the lights and before I could ask him anything he removed his bracelet and cast me aside. A hooded figure came in and knocked him out and took him away. I'd never seen her before. I think she was one of the miraculous holders that went rogue."

"So, it was Hawkmoth?" Marinette asked. "I thought Hawkmoth was a man—"

"Not Hawkmoth," Wayzz corrected. "The holder of the Peafowl miraculous. Whoever came here and took Master Fu was the holder of that miraculous. It was the second of the two that Master lost all those years ago. She's here in Paris, but I don't think she's in contact with Hawkmoth… this is the first time I've seen the holder since the miraculous went missing."

Marinette lost herself, deep in thought. She turned to Adrien, whose mouth had been agape since they entered the room. "We have to find him, Adrien. He could be in trouble, especially without Wayzz."

Marinette turned back to Wayzz. "Did either of them say anything? Any hints on where this mystery miraculous holder may be hiding?"

Wayzz shook his head. "Not a word. Master didn't even say anything after she'd entered the room. I think he was afraid of giving any telling details about where he was hiding the rest of the miraculous."

Marinette nodded. "We'll have to start a search then. Without Master Fu here, we'll have to protect the miraculous."

Marinette turned to Adrien. She reached out her hands and took his into her own. "We're going to need all the help we can get… and…" Marinette took a heavy breath. "My entire being is screaming at me to not say what I'm about to say, but… keeping our identities secret may prove to be a challenge we won't be able to accept. Not everyone will need to know, of course. But if we're going to enlist our friends to help us, we're going to need them to know who we are now."

Marinette stepped back from Adrien and began pacing about the room. "We won't be able to do this only in the suits. We'll need to meet up somewhere secret in our normal identities. If we run around in the suits, people will talk, and they'll probably start to panic… so we'll have to meet secretly and talk about what we're going to be doing. But we can't do it with just two of us... it isn't enough to have a search all over Paris"

Adrien nodded. "Who do you think we can trust to help us?"

Marinette thought for a long time. Eventually she stopped pacing and turned around, walking over to the record player. "Ugh, what's the code! I've watched Master Fu enter it a million times, and I can't remember!"

Wayzz flew over and pressed the code to into the record player, and it came to life. Adrien's eyes lit up and his mouth dropped as it slowly unfolded to reveal the huge array of miraculous. "Are we going to use all of these?" he asked, completely dumbfounded. "I had no idea there were _so many_."

Marinette shook her head. "Not yet. For now, I say we give the fox, the turtle, and the bee to their respective holders. To keep. They'll be able to help fight akumas and search for this miraculous holder. Hawkmoth too."

Marinette grabbed the three miraculous before closing the record player and turning back around to face Adrien. "But when we come face to face with this holder, then we may need them all."

Adrien walked up to Marinette and grabbed her hands before she could put the miraculous in her purse. She looked up at him, her eyes filled with determination.

"Are you sure you are ready to tell them our secret, Mari? I know how important it is to you to keep our identities secret."

Marinette looked back down at the miraculous in her hand. She took a deep breath.

"I'm not sure at all, but we don't have time to think," she said matter-of-factly. "Master Fu is out there somewhere, and he needs our help. We have to do _something_ , and I know that we won't be able to face a miraculous holder with unknown abilities on our own. That book of miraculous will only tell us basics, but miraculous holders become stronger over time, and they are able to do more with the miraculous the longer they have it."

Marinette looked up at Adrien, blue fires burning in her eyes. "We have no time to lose. We're heroes, and we have to save Master Fu and all of Paris. No matter what it takes."

With a curt nod from Adrien, Marinette sent a text to Alya and Adrien to Nino and Chloe. They were asked to meet them at the city library in the evening. They reserved a collaboration room in the lower floors of the library and agreed to meet at about 7 that night. It was soon, but there was absolutely no time to lose with the keeper of the miraculous missing.


	16. Chapter 16

Once they arrived at the library, the five of them sat down, the tension thick about the room. All that Nino, Alya, and Chloe knew was that they had something very important to tell them and that they needed to know that they could trust them with everything they've got. It was an unsettling text to receive from a friend in the evening with no context.

Eventually it was Marinette who spoke first and broke the silence.

"What we are about to talk about can never leave this room. The three of you have proven to be trustworthy assets, and we need your help now more than ever."

Marinette pulled out three boxes and placed them on the table as she continued speaking. The three faces across the table from her and Adrien lit up with shock.

"We've recently come to understand that there is another miraculous holder with malicious intentions, and she has recently come and kidnapped the keeper of the miraculous. And now we, Chat Noir and Ladybug, are asking for you to take these miraculous. They are yours to keep until further notice. If you accept these miraculous, you accept the responsibility of protecting Paris from akuma attacks, as well as helping us track down the keeper of the miraculous."

Marinette looked out at the three faces sitting before her. Alya's eyes were wide, and Nino's were as well. Chloe looked between her box and Marinette, her face unreadable.

Marinette looked down at her hands. "I know… I know it's a _lot_ to take in. But you guys have shown us time and time again that you have what it takes to do this."

Chloe scoffed. "Do you really expect _me_ to take orders from _you_? I know I called a truce, Dupain-Cheng, but you're really pushing your luck here."

"This isn't a joke, Chloe!"

It was Alya who shouted, earning surprised glances from everyone else in the room.

"Our friends have come to us, in confidence, asking for our help. Honestly, I'm… _so_ shocked that Marinette was able to keep this from me for so long." She shot Marinette a side glance. "We have _lots_ to talk about later. But, this is serious! Someone is in trouble and needs our help, we don't have time to let petty grade-school feuds get in the way! So, get over yourself, for once."

Chloe crossed her arms. But instead of refuting the argument or standing up and storming out of the room, she just took a deep breath and remained seated. She looked up at Marinette, her face deadpanned.

" _Fine_. But I'm doing it because I _want_ to, not because any of you nobodies told me to do it."

Marinette sighed, but she saw that Adrien was wearing an impressed smirk. He turned to look at Marinette.

 _Is that the best we're gonna get out of her_? She mouthed in his direction, hiding her mouth from the others across the table.

Adrien simply nodded in response, earning an exasperated sigh from Marinette.

Marinette turned back to the group and sat up straight. "Okay. So, questions? I really… don't have much else to say about all of this. The Keeper of the Miraculous is in trouble, we need your help, we've secretly been superheroes this whole time…"

Marinette was counting off points on her fingers when Nino shakily raised a hand. Marinette gestured towards him and his mouth hung agape for a moment before he started speaking.

"So… you're telling me that you're Ladybug, and Adrien… Adrien is _Chat Noir_?" Nino asked, his voice full of disbelief. Chloe scoffed and Alya sighed, her head falling into her hands.

"I think we've already confirmed that part, babe," Alya deadpanned.

"No, but, _seriously_?" Nino exclaimed, gesturing towards Adrien. "He's _Chat Noir_?!"

Adrien crossed his arms. "It isn't _that hard to believe_."

Nino snorted with laughter. "You and Chat Noir have personalities that are polar opposites, dude. Of course it's hard to believe."

Marinette gave Nino a warning glare, and he threw his hands up in surrender. She turned back to the rest of the group. "Okay. So, any other _real_ questions? Will you three help us? It's going to be dangerous, but it's for the greater good of Paris. And…" Marinette gulped, fear flooding every fiber of her being. "With a new villain on the scene with unknown power, Paris could only be a small portion of what's at stake here."

Stone cold determination filled Alya's eyes as she reached out, the first one of the three to grab her miraculous. "You know my answer already," she said, shooting Marinette and Adrien a brave smile. "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is that good people do nothing."

Chloe was the next to grab her miraculous. "I've never liked you, Marinette. I don't think I ever will. You always seem to take away everything that I want. But…" she took a deep sigh. "I can't exactly let my city fall to the hands of a bunch of villains. Especially villains who don't know how to properly dress their minions."

Nino was the last to shakily grab his miraculous. "I've never imagined myself as the kind of dude who could really be a _hero_ …" he said softly. Marinette's heart ached for him.

"But, if the two greatest heroes of all time are asking for my help, who am I to turn them away after everything they've done for me and the people I care about?"

Marinette smiled, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. They continued to talk logistics for the next half hour or so. Eventually Adrien received a text from Nathalie that dinner was going to be ready soon and that his body guard was coming to pick him up; he informed her that he was at the city library. The five of them left the room and made their way to the ground floor of the library. No sooner than arriving at the top of the stairs, Adrien heard the long honk signaling that his _chariot_ was waiting for him. He turned and smiled at his friends and planted a soft kiss on Marinette's cheek and leaning to whisper something in her ear.

"I'm proud of you, m'lady. You're going to be the heroine that saves us all."

He winked at her before bolting out of the library.

Alya wrapped her arm around a blushing Marinette. "It's like you two have known each other for years." Alya smirked, causing Marinette to blush deeper. "But I guess given the circumstances, you really have."

The rest of the group said their goodbyes and went their separate ways. Marinette made the walk back to the bakery. She gripped her purse tightly as she walked, deep in thought again.

"Tikki, did I do the right thing?" she asked, keeping her voice low. In only a few days her identity had gone from secret to one word short of public record. Tikki popped out of her purse, looking up at her with soft eyes.

"You did what you thought was best given the circumstances. It takes a lot of bravery to recognize when you're faced with a challenge that you can't take on alone. And it takes even more courage to go against what you've considered to be the right thing to do in order to preserve the greater good."

Marinette smiled. But her smile quickly faded as she fell into her thoughts again. _There's another villain with their hands on a miraculous. And we've never seen her in action, so we have no idea what she can do with her miraculous. And thus far she seems to be working solo instead of being in conjunction with Hawkmoth. We'll have to remain vigilant. More patrols, more attempts to target where Hawkmoth is hiding out._

Marinette looked up to the night sky. She could barely make out the stars amongst the light radiating off of Paris. _We have a long road ahead of us, guys. But I trust that we'll make it. We always do_.

The next morning Marinette shot up from her sleep with a jolt as her alarm went off. She silenced it and fell back onto her mattress, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She looked to her side to see Tikki curled up at the end of her bed, slowly stirring herself. Marinette finally groaned and forced herself to stand up.

"I'm so glad it's Friday. I'm so _exhausted_. I hope I can catch up on some sleep this weekend."

She descended the stairs after getting ready. She grabbed a cookie for Tikki and shoved it into her purse and grabbed a few croissants for herself as she ran out the door. For once in her life, she wasn't late, and she was pretty tempted to keep it that way.

The day passed by slowly and without incident, which Marinette was grateful for. When the last bell finally rang she stood from her seat and slung her bag over her shoulder, racing for the entrance. She slowed to a walk when she saw Nathanael and Marc chatting outside. She walked up to them, smiling.

"Oh, Marinette! We were just talking about taking a trip to the Lourve this weekend!" Nathanael said excitedly. "They've got an interesting pop art exhibit this weekend. You should come!"

Marinette's face lit up. It had been so long since she'd taken time to focus on her art. And with the new villain popping up all of a sudden, this may really be the last weekend she has to enjoy herself. "Oh, that sounds amazing. Yes, we should definitely do that! I've missed you guys and the art club so much."

Nathanael smiled. "We miss you too, Mari. If being class rep was going to take up so much of your time I never would have let you do it."

Marinette beamed at them before her attention was grabbed by Nino and Adrien calling her name. She pulled Nathanael and Marc into big hugs. "Text me! I can't wait!"

Adrien, Alya, and Nino went home with Marinette and they spent the evening playing video games and watching tv shows together. Eventually Nino and Adrien broke away to head back to Adrien's house, and Marinette and Alya climbed upstairs to get themselves ready for bed.

"Sorry tonight's probably going to be so uneventful, Alya," Marinette said softly as she walked out of her bathroom in her pajamas. "I'm just so exhausted after everything that's happened this week. I'm so ready for sleep."

Alya waved her off. "Don't apologize, girl. You actually confessed your feelings to Adrien Agreste this week. I'm surprised you're still functioning thus far. Oh, and also the whole you being a _literal_ superheroine thing."

Marinette threw a pillow at her, giggling. "You're lucky I love you, Alya. But seriously, don't go throwing around the s-word all carelessly. It's still gotta be as secret as it can stay."

Alya picked up the pillow and brought it back to the bed. They shut out the lights and crawled into bed.

"So, do you think this Peacock miraculous holder is going to be serious trouble?" Alya asked. Marinette hummed in thought.

"I don't know. The fact that she hasn't done anything up to now except for kidnapping the keeper of the miraculous says a lot. She is cold and calculated; the exact opposite of Hawkmoth. She isn't in it to make a statement, she's in it with genuine malice. She wants to destroy things and she doesn't care if people know her name or not."

Alya nodded next to her. "Do you think we'll be strong enough to take on someone like her?"

Marinette rolled over so she was facing the girl next to her. "Absolutely. Good always triumphs evil. And we have all of Paris behind us, supporting us. They have put all their faith in the superheroes of Paris, so letting them down isn't going to be an option."

Alya laughed. "Superheroine confidence really suits you, Mari. You should have told me you were Ladybug sooner."

Marinette smiled. "Just make sure you keep up the LadyBlog like normal. We don't want anybody getting suspicious with your lack of posts."

"Never in a million years. That blog is my baby, and it's what fuels the hope and strength of the people."

Marinette nodded and huffed her affirmation. Their conversation slowly died down and they both fell into a comfortable sleep. After what only felt like a couple hours, Marinette was woken up to a gentle rapping on the door leading to her balcony. Alya stirred next to her.

"Do you hear that?" she asked, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Marinette had already stood up and was walking towards her balcony.

"Yeah, I'm going to check it out."

"Be careful!"

Marinette pushed her door open and was met with fierce green eyes.

"So sorry to disturb you at this hour, m'lady, but we have a situation," Chat Noir said, reaching out a hand to help her to the balcony. Carapace was stood there with him.

"What's going on?"

"Wayzz said that he's felt Master Fu's presence when we were at Adrien's house," Carapace said nervously. "There's a couple abandoned buildings down the block, so we were going to go check them out and see if we could find anything."

Alya peaked out just then, her own kwami and Tikki flitting around her head. "Are we going right now?"

Chat Noir nodded. "Preferably. The dark gives us better cover from prying eyes."

Marinette nodded firmly. "We should probably change into some normal clothes in case we have to detransform. Give us five minutes!"

Marinette and Alya climbed back inside to change out of their pajamas.

"Are we seriously doing this? Are we about to go fight a super villain?" Alya asked, her voice wavering with equal amounts of excitement and fear. "This is crazy!"

Marinette shook her head in agreement. "It is a little crazy. It would be different if it was just your average every day akuma attack, but… this could be huge."

In a few more minutes they popped back out onto the balcony, ready to transform.

"Alright, let's do this! Tikki, spots on!"

Alya grinned as she leapt behind Marinette, transforming herself as well. "Trixx, let's pounce!"

The four of them bounded across Paris towards the Agreste mansion. Ladybug's gut twisted in anxiety. _If Master Fu is really here… we could be facing the holder of the peacock miraculous. We have no idea how powerful she is or what her ability even is supposed to be. We were never told about the peacock miraculous._

Chat Noir noticed that Ladybug's movements were slowing up, so he held back and fell in line with her.

"Are you alright, m'lady?" he asked, his voice filled with concern.

"Are we strong enough to take on this mysterious miraculous holder? What if she's there, waiting for us… will we be able to take her on?"

Her uncertain eyes were met with emerald fire. "My lady, you are the strongest person I've ever met. If anyone can take this on and come out victorious, it's you. And you have the four of us in your corner all the way. And I'd say we aren't half bad ourselves," he assured her with a wink.

"Four of us? What do you mean?"

Just then, a yellow figure buzzed up beside them. Ladybug turned and was greeted by a salute and a bright smile from Queen Bee. "The Queen is here to help kick some peacock tail."

Marinette smiled as she looked at all the heroes around her. _Chat Noir's right. We've got this. We're unstoppable._


	17. Chapter 17

The five of them landed in front of the building in question. They stared up at it for a few moments. Chat Noir turned to Ladybug. "What's our plan of action, m'lady?"

Ladybug surveyed the building. "It's too quiet. I say we keep grouped together and survey the whole building. I don't want any of us to be left alone at any time. It's too risky."

She received four nods of approval and they made their ways inside, their weapons at the ready. The floor creaked immediately after they walked in, potentially signaling their arrival. They all paused, straining their ears for any sign of movement towards or away from them. But they heard nothing and continued on, remaining cautious of each step they took. They kept their eyes and ears peeled in search of any hints as to where the miraculous holder could be hiding, or where Master Fu could be held hostage.

They got to the final room on the ground floor without seeing so much as a speck of dust out of place. So, they made their way to the staircase and climbed up as slowly and quietly as possible.

Once again, they found the floor empty and undisturbed. There was only one more floor in the building. They pulled their weapons closer and readied themselves as they climbed up the last flight of stairs. Ladybug lead the way, her yoyo ready to spin or cast her lucky charm, whichever they'd need more.

But to their complete dismay, the building was found to be completely empty save for a few mice scuttling away from them on the third floor.

"What the hell? Nobody is here," Carapace confirmed. He detransformed so he could talk to Wayzz again. "Can you still feel his presence, Wayzz?" Nino asked.

Wayzz closed his eyes for a moment. "Yes… yes he is somewhere close."

"Lead us there, Wayzz," Ladybug pleaded. "You'll be able to detect his presence better than any of our other kwamis since he is your holder."

Wayzz gave an affirmative nod and floated down the stairs, being sure to fly slow enough that they could all keep up with him. They eventually came to a stop at a pot hole in the street just behind the Agreste mansion.

"I think there is a way to get there through here," Wayzz said thoughtfully. As quietly as possible, they lifted the manhole and climbed in one after the other. Chat Noir climbed in last, pulling the cover back over them before descending down the ladder into the sewage system.

"Ugh," Queen Bee gasped, revolted by her surroundings. "If I knew being a super hero meant getting so _dirty,_ I never would have agreed to this."

Ladybug rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a drama queen, you haven't told us to stop asking you to help us yet."

Queen Bee pouted, but she made no rebuttal. The rest of the journey went with little conversation, most of it being between Wayzz and Nino at the front of the group. Eventually they came across a door. It was old and rusted, and the handled looked like it was just about ready to fall off.

"You should transform now, Nino," Wayzz said softly. "Once you walk through that door there isn't any telling what you may face."

Nino nodded before silently transforming back into Carapace. Chat Noir took the head of the group as he gently pulled on the door. It came open without much struggle; the lock mechanism must have stopped working on it a long time ago. They walked through to find a tall ladder leading up. Chat Noir climbed on first, followed by Ladybug and the rest of the group. When he reached the top, Chat Noir gasped. He slowly climbed up and out, moving to allow room for the rest of his friends to join him. They had entered some sort of _cathedral_. Who had built this giant cathedral underground, and what on earth was it for?

Before anyone could think for too long, Ladybug pointed. In the distance was Master Fu, tied up and seemingly unconscious on the other side of the cathedral. He was hidden in a dark corner, so anyone coming in here would never see him. But… none of them were entirely sure that this cathedral was a hot spot anymore. It was taken over by vines, and there were only a few light sources at the end of a long walkway that lead to an empty casket.

They quickly ran towards Master Fu and began untying him. His restraints were indestructible against Chat Noir's claws. Carapace and Queen Bee stood guard as Chat Noir used cataclysm to destroy Master Fu's restraints. Ladybug secured him to her back using her yoyo and they took one last look around the room. They made it back to the ladder and into the sewer as quickly as possible. None of them could believe that they'd had no encounter with the Peafowl miraculous holder. Rightfully so.

From across the room, the peafowl miraculous holder emerged from behind the foliage. She smiled before turning to Duusu, who floated timidly beside her.

"They're smart kids," she regarded fondly. "It's too bad I'll have to destroy them."

Duusu flinched. "Mistress, they're only children."

The miraculous holder turned to Duusu, her eyes burning with anger. "I don't give a damn, they're in the way of me and accomplishing my goals! If they didn't want to get hurt, then they shouldn't spend so much time playing super heroes. They think they've won, but he war has only just begun."

Duusu nodded calmly, sniffling back the tears in her eyes. Her miraculous holder let out another chuckle before she made her way back to the casket. She grabbed the bouquet her husband had left for her and let it rest in her hands the way it had been before. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes.

Moments later, she was joined by a troubled Gabriel Agreste, once again lamenting of how he'd failed her. He curled his hands into fists at his side.

"I've come so close to defeating those brats again and _again_. I just want us to be a family again. If they knew my intentions…"

He sighed again. "I promise you, my dear. Ladybug and Chat Noir are not long for this world. They won't keep me from you much longer."

Gabriel looked up and placed a hand gently on the front of her casket. She resisted the urge to smirk; he was looking right at her, after all.

 _Worry not, love. You haven't failed. I simply beat you to the punch_.

The group of five had made it back to Master Fu's home and saw to it that he woke up. When he did finally wake up, Chat Noir and Ladybug crowded him immediately.

"Master Fu, are you alright? Do you need us to take you to a doctor or anything?" Ladybug asked, almost insistent on the fact that he should see a doctor. He'd been tied up in an old, wet, dirty cathedral for lord knows how long, and he looked pretty bruised.

Master Fu waved her away. "I'm fine, Ladybug. Truly. Thanks to you all, I am home again, safe."

He smiled gently at the five of them. "Oh, and you can go ahead and detransform now. I know that you all know each other's identities."

They exchanged shocked glances, but they did as he asked. They detransformed in front of him. "How… how did you know?" Adrien asked. Nino nodded with affirmation, turning his attention to Master Fu.

Master Fu regarded them with a warm expression. "I simply had a feeling. Also… I've never seen Ladybug's blush match her suit before, which means that she had something she had to tell me which she was certain would disappoint me."

Marinette looked down, trying to hide from the stifled laughter of friends and kwamis alike.

"Rest assured, I am not upset with any of you. Far from it, in fact. You all put aside your differences and shock to work together and save me. For that, I am forever grateful."

He bowed towards the five of them quickly; when he stood back up straight, he regarded the five of them coolly, the smile never leaving his face. "I suppose you are going to ask if you can continue to hold the miraculous permanently until this threat is apprehended."

"Please, Master," Marinette asked. "Adrien and I can't handle this alone. Especially not when we know next to nothing about this second villain."

Master Fu nodded his head. "She is a very dangerous villain indeed. She is strong and fast, and she can use intense emotions to conjure creations similar to Hawkmoth's power. The peafowl miraculous holder has the ability to create beasts of unknown power to protect whoever they choose. She is a strong opponent and she is going to be hard to beat. It is going to take all of the help you can get."

Master Fu took one of Marinette's hands in his left, and one of Adrien's in his right. "I want all of you to be seeking out new miraculous holders. Before you face this Peafowl miraculous holder, you must form your army. People you can trust. People who are strong. You are going to need their help."

He turned to Marinette. "Forget everything I've ever told you about your secret identity. If you must reveal it to bring in those you trust to your cause, then do so. When you find miraculous holders, come to me with their names. I will find them and entrust them with these miraculous."

He let go of Marinette and Adrien and walked back across the room, running his hand gently across the record player. He would have to move somewhere new, with a villain knowing his whereabouts. It was no longer safe here. "The road ahead of us is going to be long and tiresome. These two villains are some of the greatest that the world has ever known. But I am certain that you are some of the most powerful miraculous holders I've ever seen come to fruition."

He turned around, his smile full of exhaustion. "I trust that you all will make the right decisions, and you will save us all from these super villains once and for all."

He then shooed them. "Go now. Enjoy what little time you have left to enjoy yourselves." The smile left his face as he regarded them all with an expression of the utmost seriousness. "The war is beginning, and we _must_ be ready for it. We have no other choice now."

The five of them left Master Fu to begin packing up his things. They stood outside in the cool morning air. The sky was just beginning to show signs of sunrise. They exchanged tired glances with one another.

"I guess we should get back home before our parents realize we're msising," Marinette suggested, suppressing a yawn behind her words. Everyone nodded in agreement, and they all transformed and took off for their respective homes.

Chat Noir and Carapace arrived home first, landing gently in Adrien's room. They detransformed and fell back into Adrien's bed.

"Dude, how crazy is it that Master Fu was being hidden almost directly under your house?" Nino asked, yawning as he closed his eyes, ready for sleep.

Adrien froze next to him. He… hadn't thought of it until now. But that cathedral was suspiciously close to his house. And… the architecture was very similar to that of the home; lots of butterfly nonsense.

Adrien gulped. He shook his head and willed his suspicions to go away. It wasn't the first time that his father had been suspected to be involved with some sort of villainy in Paris. He wasn't the kindest person, but… he was Adrien's father. He was Gabriel Agreste, the king of fashion. He wouldn't… he wouldn't stoop to that level. Mother wouldn't have wanted that.

"Hey man, you okay?"

Adrien took a deep breath. "Yeah. I'm just tired. Let's get some sleep before Nathalie comes and wakes us up."

Nino nodded and rolled over, quickly falling into a deep sleep. Adrien shut his eyes and willed his brain to stop thinking, just for a _moment_ so he could sleep. Plagg eyed Adrien carefully, worried about his holder.

 _As easy as this would be_ , Plagg thought _, please don't let Hawkmoth be this kid's dad._

Marinette and Alya had no such luck with rest. Well, Alya did. She had fallen onto Marinette's bed and passed out almost immediately. Marinette quickly got to work picking out people that she thought would do well with a miraculous.

"I was thinking that Luka would be great with the Snake miraculous," she thought aloud, bouncing ideas off of Tikki and Trixx.

"Oh, what about that Sabrina girl? I think the Dog miraculous would suit her," Tikki said thoughtfully.

Marinette nodded in agreement. She stuck her tongue out as she scribbled down a list. Alya stirred in the bed across the room from her.

"Mari, do you have to do that _right now_?" she whined, pulling the blanket up over her head.

Marinette sighed. "I wish I didn't. But the sooner we have a working list, the sooner we can start getting people their miraculous."

 ** _Miraculous Holders_**

 _Villains:_

 ** _Peacock:_** _?  
 **Butterfly:** ?_

 _Current:_

 ** _Ladybug:_** _Marinette (me)  
 **Cat:** Adrien  
 **Fox:** Alya  
 **Turtle:** Nino  
 **Bee:** Chloe_

 _Prospective:_

 ** _Mouse:_** _Mylene; timid, yet brave  
 **Ox:** Ivan; strong, with a big heart  
 **Tiger:** Juleka; fierce, but quiet  
 **Rabbit:** Marc; cute until you cross him  
 **Dragon:** Kagami; a fierce, fighting spirit  
 **Snake:** Luka; mysteriousness is his strength  
 **Horse:** Alix; quick mentally and physically  
 **Goat:** Nathanael; thick-headed, but in a good way  
 **Monkey:** Max; incredibly smart and knows how to make the most out of the least  
 **Rooster:** Kim; not afraid to start a fight with someone twice his size  
 **Dog:** Sabrina; loyal and compassionate, ready to protect her friends  
 **Pig:** Rose; small, but stronger than she appears_

After a few hours of silently muttering to herself and occasional complaints from Alya between periods of snoring, Marinette held the list up in front of her, pleased with what she'd come up with. She decided they could have another meeting with the current five miraculous holders and discuss her decisions before she gave the list to Master Fu.

Marinette finally decided that she should get some sleep. The sun was just above the horizon, casting morning shadows into her bedroom. She fell into bed next to Alya and quickly fell asleep despite the racing of her heart.

 _We can do this… we can do this we cando thiswecandothis…_


	18. Chapter 18

In the end, Marinette called off the trip to the Lourve with Nathanael and Marc. She told them she wasn't feeling well, and she hoped that they could spend some time together soon. She let out a deep sigh as she let the phone fall out of her hand. She hadn't been to an art club meeting in weeks, and as it were now she probably wasn't going to make it to another meeting this school year.

Weeks and months dragged on and nothing changed. Akuma attacks occurred like normal, and Chat Noir and Ladybug continued to take care of them. They advised their friends to lay low; they didn't want to draw attention to their reinforcements before it was time. But they continued to have regular meetings to discuss logistics and anything they could think of to counteract their opponents' potential powers. They agreed upon Marinette's list of potential miraculous holders, though they were concerned with the carelessness Marinette presented by writing all of their classmates and Miraculous down on a piece of loose-leaf paper.

"There must be a safer way to store this information," Adrien pointed out. Everyone in the room nodded in agreement, Marinette flush with embarrassment.

"Yeah, I'd suggest her brain, but if she had one of those she wouldn't have written everything down in the first place," Chloe butted in. Marinette took a deep breath, but she didn't retort. Chloe was, for once, 100% right.

"I know it was careless, guys, I'm really sorry," Marinette started. "I was half awake and I didn't want to forget anything, but I should have done something more secure."

"No worries, dude," Nino said. He pulled the list towards him and snapped a picture of the list with his phone. "We can all download one of those encrypted storage apps and we can each keep a copy of it there; that way we all have it, and we can destroy the hard copy of the list!"

Adrien beamed. "Wow, Nino, that's an awesome idea!"

They all took turns passing the list around and snapping a picture. Marinette was the last to take a picture; she went to start tearing the paper up (but she was going to throw it in the first paper shredder she came across, just in case), but froze mid-tear. She turned to Adrien.

"We should get a copy of this to Master Fu, right? Maybe we should let him hold on to the hard copy."

Adrien hesitated. "This is something that really can't get out, Mari. It would be different if it was just the tentative list of our classmates. But," he gestured around the room. "We're all on there too, and that's really dangerous. I think we should destroy it here while we have it in our possession for sure and just let Master Fu take a picture of one of our phones instead."

Marinette hesitated for another moment before deciding that Adrien was right. It was way too risky, and now was not the time to take unnecessary risks. With that, she tore the paper in half, then into fourths, and continued until she had a pile of paper pieces that were barely as big as the tips of her fingers. She then proceeded to throw them into the paper shredder in the library before wiping her hands. The five of them left the library and went their separate ways. Adrien and Marinette decided to take the opportunity to go to Master Fu and tell them which classmates were going to be getting which Miraculous, so they would be ready to disperse them when the time came. Master Fu nodded and smiled at them, assuring them that he'd take care of everything.

Finally, the last day of the school year came and passed, leaving them all in summer vacation. They used their extra time to formulate strategies and talk about things they'd seen or learned while on patrols.

"There are still no signs of Mayura using her miraculous to its full power," Alya said. "And Hawkmoth is still using his as normal, so they still aren't working together as far as we know. At least, they aren't physically working together. Do we think that they know that they both exist, and they are just laying low themselves?"

Adrien sighed. "It's possible. But if their hideouts are nowhere near each other, then it is also highly possible that Hawkmoth still has no idea that she exists…"

Nino shook his head. "We don't even know where they are hiding out at this point, though, right? That keeper of the miraculous dude was found in that underground cathedral, but is that a hideout? Or is it just a creepy underground cathedral that she repurposed as a makeshift torture… thing?"

Marinette sunk deeper into her mind, humming in thought. "It's probably in our best interest to assume the worst scenario and prepare for it. We don't want to come up short, because we don't know what either of them are truly capable of. We know nothing about Mayura, and only about Hawkmoth's akuma making ability. But Master Fu warns us all the time that it's going to get more dangerous the more that Hawkmoth learns about the upper limits of his power." Marinette looked around the room at all her friends, trying to keep the trembling out of her words as she was overflowing with anxiety. "It could mean life or death… for us, for all of our friends, for Paris."

Adrien nodded again, his movements slow. Marinette placed a reassuring hand on his arm and rubbed it. "I know how tired we all are. Why don't we go and get some sleep? The semester just ended, we deserve at least a few nights of rest before we dive into this, right?" Marinette said, trying her absolute best to perk up her own voice and lift everyone's spirits.

With that, the five of them broke away for the night. Adrien and Marinette walked hand in hand towards the bakery that was a few blocks away.

"I'm so exhausted," he muttered, his eyelids heavy.

Marinette frowned. "I know, mon minou. I'm sorry that this is how things have to be right now. I wish circumstances were different…"

When they finally stopped in front of the bakery, Adrien gave Marinette a soft kiss. Marinette pulled Adrien into a tight hug, rubbing his back. They broke away after what felt like several moments. Adrien turned away, but Marinette grabbed him before he motioned to transform into Chat Noir.

"Hey, Adrien, why don't you just spend the night?" Marinette suggested.

Adrien looked baffled. "Without telling your parents?"

"No, no!" Marinette denied, blushing furiously as she waved her arms all over the place. "We have a guest room you could sleep in. I know they won't say no to you. They adore you. And, you just seem so tired. And I know that you always have so many things to do at home, and, well… you deserve a real rest."

Adrien hesitated. "I don't know, I don't want to burden your parents, even if they really do like me. Plus, I don't have any bed clothes with me or anything, and I don't want to make them have to make me dinner and everything—."

Marinette pulled him into another kiss, deepening his blush and silencing his anxieties.

She pulled away and looked up at him with soft eyes. She cupped his face in both of her hands. "Adrien Agreste, they love you _almost_ as much as I do. Let us take care of you, mon minou."

Adrien gave a small smile, a faint blush creeping into his own cheeks. "If you really insist, then… o-okay. I'll, uh… I'll tell Nathalie I'm at Nino's house or something."

Marinette beamed and grabbed Adrien by the hand, pulling him inside and up the stairs. Her parents were sitting in the living room watching tv while dinner was cooking. It smelled absolutely delicious, as their cooking always did.

"Mama, papa, is it alright if Adrien sleeps over in the guest bedroom tonight?"

Marinette's parents turned around and practically leapt off the couch to come over and excitedly greeted Adrien. "Oh, oh, of course he can!" Sabine said excitedly, beaming at him and her daughter. "Oh, he's just in time too. Your father is cooking his special roast chicken recipe!"

Tom nodded excitedly. "And for desert, your mother is making her lovely Nian Gao."

Sabine beamed. "Your great uncle Wang taught me that recipe so many years ago, it was always one of my favorites."

Marinette was getting a bit flustered by her parents' rambling, but she turned and saw that Adrien was completely engrossed by her parents. His eyes were lit up with excitement as they talked about cooking different recipes and how those evolved into reminiscing about family history. Marinette couldn't help but smile and keep quiet, letting him enjoy the family time that he probably didn't get enough of in his own home.

When dinner finished, they all ate and talked excitedly amongst themselves. Adrien had never felt as calm and welcome in a home as he did with Marinette's family. He felt like he could breathe here. He was allowed to be himself; he didn't have to live up to impossible expectations or be working at all hours of the day. He was allowed to relax and take time out of the day to truly enjoy himself.

The desert that Sabine had made was one of the most delicious things Adrien had ever tasted in his life, and he was only slightly embarrassed by the tears that welled in his eyes after the first bite. Tom and Sabine looked on, beaming with pride at him, assuring him that it was okay and that they were so glad that he was enjoying the food.

Marinette could only giggle as she watched Adrien continuing to fumble his way through thanks. Once desert was finished, Sabine and Tom ushered Marinette and Adrien towards the living room to play a game as they cleaned up from dinner. They heard nothing of Adrien's wanting to help them clean up since they cooked everything. Marinette kissed her parents and thanked them before she took Adrien by the hand and lead him to the living room. She pulled out some controllers and started up the Ultimate Mecha Strike III game in the console. She fell back onto the couch and looked towards Adrien, smirking.

"You ready to get your butt kicked, Agreste?"

Adrien smiled back, a similar fire alighting in his gaze. "I'll make you eat those words!"

They took off mashing buttons and shouting incoherent threats at each other as they battled. Marinette maintained an impressive kill streak, with Adrien only winning one game after having played for almost two hours. Marinette hadn't realized when her parents left them to their own devices to retire to their bedroom. She looked at the clock in the kitchen and saw that it was just after ten.

"Oh man, it got really late really fast," she said, standing up and stretching, controller in hand. She held out her hand to take Adrien's controller from him as well before she took them both to the basket under the television, and shut down the gaming console.

"Let's head upstairs," Marinette said softly, her words punctuated by a large yawn. "I'll show you where the guest bedroom is."

They walked across the house and she gestured gently to the door below the stairway leading to her own bedroom. "Right in there. And there's a bathroom inside. We have some spare tooth brushes and toothpaste in there that you can use."

Marinette gave him a gentle smile. "I hope you have sweet dreams, Adrien. You deserve them."

She gave him one last peck on the cheek before she climbed the stairs to her bedroom. Adrien blushed furiously as he smiled up at her. "Goodnight, m'lady."

He walked into the guest bedroom and was floored at how nice it was. The comforter on the bed made it look like a cloud that had been roped out of the sky and brought to this very bedroom. Upon closer inspection he found a pile of bed clothes left on the bed. Tom or Sabine must have put those there while they were busy playing video games.

He brushed his teeth and changed into the night clothes before falling back into the bed.

"Oh my God, Plagg, this is _glorious_ ," he whispered, his entire body sinking satisfactorily into the pillows and mattress. "I wish my bed at home was this comfortable."

He very quickly fell into one of the easiest sleeps he'd had since his mother passed away. For once, he felt completely safe and at peace.

Upstairs, Marinette was beaming, bouncing around her room full of excitement even though it was approaching 11 pm.

"Wow, Tikki. It's so hard to believe that all of this is real."

She glanced over towards the wall that was now devoid of any pictures of model Adrien. They were instead replaced by 2 times as many pictures of each other and their friends. She fell back onto her chaise, draping an arm over her face as her smile failed to wash off her face.

"If you had told me 6 months ago that Adrien Agreste and I were going to be in a happy relationship, and also that we had turned out to be crime-fighting partners the whole time, I would have laughed you out of France," Marinette said, laughing to herself.

Tikki giggled too as she buzzed around Marinette's head. "It was getting rather difficult not to make a peep as we watched you two fumbling around each other's identities. For me, anyway. I think Plagg was just really amused at how silly the two of you were being."

"That seems like a Plagg sort of thing to do, doesn't it?" Marinette asked. She slowly sat up and stretched in another yawn.

"I guess we should get ready for bed. Who knows what tomorrow holds since the children are free from the confines of school for the entire summer."

Tikki nodded and flitted towards her own tiny nest of blankets. Marinette brushed her teeth and changed into her favorite polka dotted pajamas before collapsing into bed, barely remembering to plug her phone into its charger.

"Goodnight, Tikki," she whispered softly, hugging her cat pillow close and humming with content.

"Goodnight, Marinette."

The next morning Adrien awoke with gentle sunbeams shining down on his face. He took a deep breath and smelled the absolutely delicious aroma of at least 3 different flavors of croissants flooding his senses. He melted further into the bed and pulled the covers closer, sighing in content.

"If this is a dream, please don't ever wake me up," he whispered.

He was met with repeated prods to the face, a very annoyed Plagg wanting him to get up.

"Come on, Adrien, I'm soooo hungry."

Adrien groaned. "Okay, okay, fine. I'm getting up."

He slowly pushed himself up from the bed and stood up, plush carpet cradling his toes as he stretched out of his sleepy daze.

"Whatever breakfast is, it sure does smell delicious."

He slowly waltzed out of the guest room and was greeted by Marinette, Sabine, and Tom sitting around the island of the dining room, talking excitedly about what they planned to make for the bakery today to celebrate the beginning of summer.

Marinette was the first to notice Adrien emerging from the guest room, and she shot him a beaming smile. "Morning, Adrien! How did you sleep?"

Adrien smiled back, wiping some of the sleep that still lingered in his eyes. "The bed was so soft, I didn't ever want to get up."

Sabine chuckled, turning to Tom. "I told you that it was a good idea to get that mattress for the guest room."

Tom shrugged, but counteracted his indifference by pulling Sabine into a side hug anyway. "I'm glad that the young ones that still have good backs can enjoy the soft mattresses more than I can."

Adrien took a seat next to Marinette, and he was immediately greeted by a plate covered in eggs, bacon, and _five_ different flavors of croissants. He looked up to Tom and Sabine, who simply smiled at him.

"Go on, no need to be shy," Tom belted. "We have more than plenty to go around."

Adrien felt another wave of tears wanting to fall, but he blinked them back.

"Thank you both so much, for making me feel so at home in such a small amount of time..." he started, not entirely sure where he was going. But he knew he had to thank Tom and Sabine again. They, and Marinette too, had all gone so far out of their way to make sure that he felt welcome and comfortable.

"You're both such lovely people, and it's easy to see where Marinette gets her kindness and compassion."

Sabine brought her hands over her heart, love written across her features. "Of course, dear. Any friend, or boyfriend, of Marinette's will always be welcome here as one of our own."

Marinette reached over and took one of Adrien's hands into her own. He looked over at her, and she too had nothing but love painting her features. "They mean it too," she squeezed his hand to emphasize her point. "You're absolutely always welcome here, no matter when."

Adrien blinked his gratefulness before finally digging in to one of those croissants. This one was chocolate flavored. The four of them ate to their stomach's content and talked excitedly about summer plans. Adrien was invited to at least four big bakery events, and even the Dupain-Cheng's summer vacation. When he politely declined the first time, insisting that he didn't want to be a financial burden, they insisted that he must come because they were traveling to the French country side and it wasn't something to be missed. He relented, and nodded his excited agreement, stating that he'd talk to his father about it. Eventually, he looked up at the clock and saw that it was almost 11. He was probably expected to have his piano lessons today after lunch, which meant he should probably be heading home.

He stood up, and met everyone else's gaze.

"I should probably be headed home, my father still has piano lessons planned for today. But thank you again so much for making me feel so at home here," he said, smiling. "I hope that one day I can show you all just how much this meant to me."

Sabine beamed. "You're truly welcome anytime, dear. Just let us know!"

Adrien nodded before returning to the guest bedroom to change back into his clothes and collect his school backpack. He gently folded up the night clothes and placed them in his chair as he walked back out to the living room. Sabine and Tom were washing dishes, and they both waved goodbyes as Marinette and Adrien made their way downstairs.

"Text me if you need anything, mon minou," Marinette said, pulling him into a tight hug. "You always have a home here."

Adrien hugged back tighter, willing the tears to not fall for a third time this morning.

"I love you, Marinette. _Thank you_."

With that, he took a quick glance to make sure they were alone before transforming into Chat Noir. He gave a quick salute before vaulting off towards home.

He had forgotten all about how he'd actually told his father—rather, he told Nathalie who probably then told his father—that he was going to be at a friend's house, and it probably would be acceptable to just walk through the front door. But then he figured that his father, or Nathalie, very rarely paid enough attention to how he got home these days, as long as they found him. So, he resigned to the faster way of getting home by vaulting through his still open window and landed on light feet on the floor of his bedroom, detransforming back into Adrien. Plagg immediately flew for the cheese that was laying on his table.

 _Home_ … he internally sighed. He collapsed onto his bed, still in a blissful calm despite finding himself in the last place he really wanted to be right now. Breakfast with Marinette and her family had been like a dream come true, just as much as dinner had been the night before. It had been so long since Adrien had been able to experience true togetherness like that. All of those kinds of things ended when his mother disappeared…

Adrien was almost ready to fall asleep again in his bed when he heard a giant crash coming from downstairs. His eyes snapped open with a start, and he leapt out of his bed. Plagg, who was also startled from a peaceful state munching on his camembert, zoomed towards the door, ready to follow Adrien downstairs. But Adrien stopped him.

"Stay here, Plagg. I'll be right back."

Plagg shook his head. "And let you track down the burglar that just broke into your house and have you get yourself killed? Not a chance, Adrien."

Adrien shook his head, not in the mood to fight at the moment. "You're over reacting, its probably just my father upset over something."

Plagg still gave him an uneasy look, which was very rare for him. Adrien let out a defeated sigh. "Fine, if you're coming, then hide and _stay_ hidden. I can't risk you being seen by my father or Nathalie."

Plagg buried himself in Adrien's button-up, and Adrien slowly crept out of his room, making his way to the staircase in the main foyer. He peered downstairs and noticed that the door to his father's workroom was open a crack.

 _Crap, I hope this isn't actually a burglar. Father will be so upset if something in there got destroyed. It's all of his paintings of me and mom._

He crept carefully down the stairs, careful to make his steps as light as possible. He approached the door and peered through the crack, attempting to scope out the who was inside. While trying to mentally prepare himself for the person inside to not be his father, he still wasn't ready when he was met with the backside of a strange, yet oddly familiar looking figure. His breath caught in his throat as he realized who it was. He'd only seen him a handful of times, and they were illusions for most of that handful. But there was no mistaking the sinister posture and the purple suit.

Hawkmoth let out a frustrated scream as he grabbed a piece of already broken statue and threw it across the room. "We were _this_ close, Emilie. This close to having you back again. How do they keep doing this to me?!"

Adrien flinched away, his heart rate quickly accelerating. How had Hawkmoth gotten into his house? Why was he speaking his mother's name? He wanted to run. Run, find his father, and leave this house forever. If Hawkmoth knew where they lived, they weren't safe here anymore. They had to get out.

"Nooroo, detransform me." Adrien's gaze snapped back to the figure standing in the center of the room. At least now he could tell Ladybug and Master Fu the secret identity of Hawkmoth. As long as he could get out of this alive, their fight with Hawmoth was almost over.

But he had a bad feeling.

Very bad.

That voice.

It was so cold, it sent chills down his spine.

It was so…

 _Familiar._

Adrien held his breath as a purple light flashed before Gabriel Agreste was left standing there, his body shaking with rage.


	19. Chapter 19

Adrien took a step back, unable to comprehend what he'd just witnessed. His own father… standing detransformed where Hawkmoth stood only moments ago.

He didn't know what to do. Suddenly, he felt even less safe in this house than he ever has, which is saying a lot considering he's never felt like he had the freedom to even breathe here. He had to get out. He had to find Marinette. They… they would have to defeat his father.

Would Adrien even be able to go into battle against Hawkmoth? Now that he knew that his father was the one behind the mask, would his feelings about his father get in the way? Sure, he was… heartless. And sometimes even cruel. But he was still Adrien's father, and he always would be. First, he had lost his mother to mysterious circumstances. And now his father was Paris' most feared super villain?

He felt like he was going to faint. Suddenly, his father turned around, as though he'd heard him panicking. Adrien turned and ran up the stairs and into his room. He closed the door and locked it, trying desperately to regain his composure. Plagg flew out of hiding and hovered in Adrein's face.

"Adrien, take deep breaths, okay?"

"Plagg… my father, he's… he's…"

Adrien broke down into incoherent sobs. Plagg kept trying to get words out of him, kept trying to get him to text someone or pack a bag and get the _hell_ out of there, but nothing worked. Unsure of what else to do, Plagg managed to pull Adrien's cell phone out of his pocket and pulled up Marinette's contact. He sent a message to her.

 **Please come, Adrien needs help. 3:52pm**

Her only response was three question marks. Plagg groaned. "Now isn't the time, Marinette!"

 **Plagg. Please come quickly. 3:54pm**

Plagg immediately deleted the messages in case his father ever saw the phone and began questioning who sent them, since it obviously wasn't his son. Marinette never sent another response, but in about 15 minutes the doorbell rang. Adrien had finally gained some composure and started doing some breathing exercises from where he sat on the floor, knees pulled into his chest. Nathalie knocked on his door.

"Adrien. Your friend Marinette from school is here."

Adrien shakily stood up and opened his bedroom door. Marinette greeted him with a small wave and a sheepish smile. As though nothing were wrong, Adrien smiled at Nathalie.

"Thank you," he said.

Nathalie only gave a curt nod before turning and leaving the two of them alone. Marinette rushed into Adrien's room and pushed his door closed. Adrien almost immediately broke back down.

"Adrien, what's going on?" she asked, her voice filled with concern. "Come on kitty, I need you to talk to me."

He took a deep breath and looked at Marinette. His eyes were filled with fear and uncertainty.

"Talk to me, mon minou," Marinette pleaded, her heart breaking in two.

"My father… he's Hawkmoth."

Marinette audibly gasped.

"How… how do you know?" Marinette asked, her body frozen still. "Are you… are you sure it wasn't just your eyes playing some sort of trick on you?"

How could one of the most influential fashion designers in all of Paris be… a villain? He was held in such high regard by the citizens of Paris. Why would he do such a thing? Why would he _want_ to do such a thing?

He shook his head violently. "I'm certain. I watched him detransform. He turned towards me. I saw his face, his glasses, his coat… it was my father."

Marinette, unsure of what else to do, pulled Adrien into a hug. "I'm so sorry, my love. I'm sorry."

Adrien hugged back tighter, his tears flowing full force again. Marinette simply rubbed his back, whispering reassurances to him.

"Everything is going to be all right. Everything is going to be all right…"

But deep down, she knew that these words probably meant next to nothing. Of every possible person in Paris, Gabriel Agreste was _Hawkmoth_? What more could he possibly want? He has a successful business, a wonderful son, a gorgeous home, and devoted fans all over the globe. What more could such a successful man need, and why would he need to go through such violent forces to get it?

Eventually Adrien had settled down, Marinette stood up, and reached her hand out. "I'll help you pack, and you can come stay with me."

Adrien blinked at her, confused. "Oh Mari, I couldn't impose on your family like that."

"Adrien Agreste, I am not letting you stay under the same roof as that… that foul, disgusting…"

"Hey," Adrien snapped. "He's… he's still my father."

Marinette's face fell, shuffling her feet sheepishly. "I'm sorry, I know. I know… but, what if he tries to hurt you?"

"He wouldn't," Adrien said, completely assured. "He's my father, and… he didn't see me. So, he doesn't know that I know."

Marinette shook her head. "It still isn't safe, mon minou."

"Isn't this the ideal scenario, though?" Adrien asked thoughtfully. Marinette and Plagg both eyed him with uncertainty.

"What do you mean? How is anything about this—"

"We have the upper hand now, don't you see?" he exclaimed, his voice an excited whisper, though the expression did not make it through to his tired eyes or the frown plastered across his face. "We know who he is, but he doesn't know who any of us are. We know where he's working out of, I can be here without it being suspicious. I can watch what he does, and we can plan our attack once I learn more."

Marinette watched him with sad, scared eyes. "What if he ever sees you while he's transformed? What if he locks you up, or hurts you, or sends you away, we…"

Adrien grabbed Marinette by her shoulders. "Calm down, Princess. There's no need for worry. I can handle this."

Marinette shook her head, tears dripping down her cheeks. "It just isn't safe, Adrien. It isn't safe."

Adrien let out an exasperated sigh. "This is why we couldn't know, isn't it."

Marinette regarded him with a shocked expression. "Couldn't know what?"

"Who we were. Because now that you know _I'm_ Chat Noir, you don't trust me with anything anymore."

Marinette gaped at him. "Adrien, what? Of course I trust you, I… I trust you more than I trust anyone else."

His eyes met hers with such a fierce intensity that Marinette drew back into herself. "Then why can't you just let me do this?! Why can't you let me do what I'm supposed to do? As a _hero_?"

Marinette whimpered, barely able to muster a response through her sniffling and her tears. "I just… I'm scared, Adrien. We all need you, we can't… we can't do this without you. I… I can't do this without you..."

She rubbed feebly at the tears in her eyes. "I just want you to be safe."

Adrien took a deep breath and his expression softened.

"I understand that you're scared. We all are. But we have to do what we have to do. And, if I run away now, we lose the best shot we've ever had at defeating Hawkmoth."

Adrien reached out and grabbed Marinette's hands, rubbing smooth, reassuring circles into the palms of her hands.

"Please, Marinette. I need you to _trust me_."

Marinette took a deep breath before releasing a deep sigh. She met his gaze, her eyes reddened from tears, and she clearly still wasn't convinced.

"I trust you, chaton. I've always trusted you."

He leaned forward, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "You'll never be without me, milady. We're going to do this. As long as we're together, we can do this."

Marinette nodded before pulling herself away. "It's getting late, so I should probably head home." She turned back before reaching for the handle, meeting Adrien's gaze one last time. "Promise me you'll keep yourself safe, mon minou?" she begged, her voice quivering with more tears that had yet to be shed.

Adrien met her with a determined smirk and his signature Chat Noir salute. "Cat's honor, m'lady."

Marinette couldn't help the small laugh that escaped her, despite the unease she felt deep down in her gut. "Goodnight, Adrien."

"Goodnight, Marinette."

With that, she was gone, which meant it was time for Adrien and Plagg to start planning.

The clock struck 1:30am, and Adrien quietly exited his bedroom. The house was somehow even more deadly silent than usual, which meant that everyone else was probably asleep by now.

He crept down the stairs and stopped short in front of the large door leading to his father's study. He's only been in this room a handful of times, as he very rarely is allowed to bother his father when he's in this room. He grabs the door handle in his hand and gently twists it, pulling the door open just wide enough for him to slip inside. Once he's in, he gently pulls the door closed behind him. Plagg flies out from hiding and floats around the room, taking in as much as he can. Adrien's gaze snaps over to the portrait of his mother at the center of the room, behind his father's podium. She's smiling that bright smile she always used to have.

He missed her so much.

He shook his head in an attempt to clear his thoughts. Across the room, he noticed Plagg hovering in front of his mother's portrait. He tip-toed across the room. In the faded moonlight filtering in through the windows, he noticed that there were several places on the painting that looked more worn than other spots.

"They look like buttons," Plagg said thoughtfully, pressing one of them gently. Surely enough, it gave way. Curious, Adrien pressed the other spots in the painting. The floor rumbled beneath them. Then, suddenly, they were sinking below the room further into the house. Adrien stood motionless in the center of the platform, Plagg hovering near him, ready to transform. When the platform stopped moving, they were surrounded completely by darkness save for one window with moonlight filtering in. The room was silent save for the heartbeat that Adrien heard in his ears.

He took a step forward and suddenly several white butterflies took flight, fluttering around the room. Adrien stepped back to where the platform meshed with the floor, pulling his arms around himself.

"I guess this is where my father sends out… akumas."

Adrien gulped, still not coming to terms with the fact that his father was… was…

"We need to know another way to get in," Adrien said suddenly, ignoring his own inner turmoil. Plagg, can you fly outside and tell me what else is around this window?"

Plagg gave Adrien a worried look; he clearly didn't want to leave his side. But eventually he nodded and took off, phasing through the glass panes. Within minutes, he flew back in.

"The back left of your house, but there's a steel plate covering it so it just blends into the roof," Plagg informed. "You wouldn't want to use your Cataclysm before you even get in."

Adrien nodded. "Could you do it?"

Plagg shrunk back nervously. "What if I took the whole house down?"

Adrien shook his head. "You wouldn't. You've learned how to focus it better, right? You could break it open and I could transform before we run in."

Plagg still seemed uncertain, but he gave a curt nod. "I'll do my best, Adrien."

With that, Adrien nodded. While Plagg had been scoping out surroundings, Adrien found the controls and sent them back upstairs. When the platform had firmly meshed with the rest of the floor, he crept back out of his father's study, up the stairs, and into his room. He took a deep breath; he had no idea how the stars had aligned for that to go so well, but they knew so much more about Hawkmoth now.

There was nothing that could stop them now.

 _We're going to win this fight_ … _ready or not, father, here we come_!

Meanwhile, a peafowl villain with blue skin and fierce pink eyes emerged from behind a statue in the study. She walked up to the portrait of Emilie Agreste and rested a hand on it gently.

"Foolish man," she whispered, with a throaty chuckle. "You've revealed all your secrets now."

The next morning, Marinette woke up to a stream of texts from Adrien at about 2 in the morning.

"What on _Earth_ was he doing up at that hour?" Marinette groaned, barely awake herself. She opened the texts, immediately alert when she'd read the first one.

 **I found Hawkmoth's lair. 1:59am**

 **Its through my father's study. My mom's portrait has secret keys that open up the platform to get to it. 2:02am**

 **There's a bunch of butterflies and a window covered up to blend into the roof. 2:03am**

 **I know how to get there now. 2:04am**

 **We need to attack soon. 2:04am**

 **The time is now. 2:05am**

Marinette's fingers hovered over the keyboard, unsure of what to say first.

 ** _When? 9:32am_**

 ** _We need a plan. 9:32am_**

 ** _Please don't go in there again. You never know when he's there. He's sent out plenty of akumas at night. 9:35am_**

 ** _You have to be careful. 9:36am_**

 ** _Please. 9:37am_**

Marinette let the phone slip out of her hand as she fell back into her pillows, willing the world to stop turning so she could sleep for a few more days.

"Tikki… what if we aren't ready?"

Tikki landed gently on Marinette's shoulder. "You're very fortunate that Adrien could find all of this out without being caught. I feel like you're in the best position you could be in."

Marinette shook her head. "We still know next to nothing about Mayura. What if going after Hawkmoth triggers her to start wreaking her own havoc. It'll be Hawkmoth all over again, maybe even worse this time."

Tikki hummed thoughtfully. "Isn't it better this way though? The heroes will be victorious over Hawkmoth, so… what's another villain to a group of pro super heroes and heroines?"

Marinette huffed with laughter as a smile crossed her face. Her smile quickly faded though as her phone buzzed with a response from Adrien.

 **Let's meet tonight. 7pm. I'll text everyone. 9:45am**

 ** _Okay. Want to come over for dinner? 9:47am_**

 **Sure. :) 9:48am**

Marinette smiled weakly. At least she'd get some sort of time with Adrien before they throw themselves head first into this thing. She tried to ignore the dread that she felt hanging over her so she could face her parents.

Marinette finally dragged herself out of bed and got dressed before heading downstairs.

"Mom, Dad, is it alright if Adrien comes over for dinner?"

Her parents flailed with excitement. "Of course! When will he get here? What should we make?" almost in unison. Marinette laughed and sat down to breakfast with her parents as they discussed dinner plans, and she told them that she'd be heading out with Adrien to meet up with a few of their friends and that she'd be home late.

At around 5, Adrien arrived at the Dupain-Cheng home. He knocked gently on the door way. He was greeted by an ever-enthusiastic Tom Dupain, who pulled him into a bone-crushing hug before inviting him inside.

"Marinette is upstairs, you're more than welcome to head up there if you like," Sabine said gently. "We'll come get the two of you when dinner is ready."

Adrien smiled thankfully at Marinette's parents before ascending the stairs to her bedroom. He pushed the door open and climbed up, and he was met with a pacing, muttering, and eventually blushing Marinette when she'd realized that Adrien had been standing there watching her mutter to herself for an unknown amount of time. Adrien chuckled when Marinette made no motion to speak.

"Cat got your tongue, princess?" he teased before falling onto her chaise. Marinette sat down in her desk chair, pushing herself in a slow circle.

"I wasn't expecting you so early, otherwise I would have met you downstairs."

"Early?" Adrien asked. "It's after 5."

"What?!" Marinette spun around and shook her computer awake before her eyes landed on the time. It was 5:09pm.

"Oh my gosh… how did time slip so far away from me?!"

Tikki flew out next to her, shaking her head. "She's been pacing back and forth up here since after lunch. I thought she'd never sit down again."

"I can't help it!" Marinette whined, standing up again. "No matter how I think all of this through, it all ends in disaster! We just aren't ready for this. No matter how determined we are, it won't matter if we don't have what we need to pull this off."

Their thoughts were interrupted by Marinette's trap door swinging open, her parents standing there with sheepish grins

"Dinner is ready, you two!"

Marinette sighed and stood up, shuffling across the room. Adrien followed, giving Marinette's shoulder a reassuring squeeze in the place of the words he couldn't speak at the moment.

Marinette picked at her food with disinterest while Adrien and her parents chatted. Sabine gave her daughter a concerned look.

"Marinette, honey? Is everything okay? You've barely touched your dinner."

Marinette nodded, slowly bringing a forkful of food to her mouth. She swallowed and looked up at her mom. "Just tired, I guess."

Sabine didn't look convinced, but she decided against interrogating her daughter in Adrien's presence, which was much appreciated. The rest of dinner passed in an uncomfortable silence, and Marinette swiftly ran upstairs and gathered her things before ushering Adrien and herself out the door once everything had been cleaned up. She delivered a hasty 'I'll be home late' before slamming the door behind her.

Adrien wasn't given much time to inquire about Marinette either, because the rest of their friends were already waiting on the stairs outside of the school, which of course happened to be right next to Marinette's home. With a sigh, Adrien stepped forward so he could acknowledge all four of them.

"I'm glad you could all make it. I figured that this would be a better spot to meet than the library, it's a little more secluded."

Nino glanced around at the cars that whizzed by and the people walking down the sidewalks.

"Uh, dude? We're outside?"

Adrien smirked. "Yeah, so what do we say that we get inside?" he asked suggestively, gesturing towards their school building. "It's summer, the school has an open concept, and we're all superheroes that have the ability to get off of the ground."

The five of them snuck around back, and even Marinette couldn't hide her amused smile as they all transformed and leapt over the building into the empty courtyard inside. They found a corner, detransformed, and the five of them and their kwamis all sat on the floor in a circle, ready to discuss their course of action.

"I think we should attack as soon as possible," Adrien started. "We know more about Hawkmoth than we ever have, and if we don't take advantage of this, we might lose our only shot."

Nino shook his head. "I don't know, dude. You've only been in there once, and it was in the middle of the night. I trust you man, but I feel like it's a dangerous call to go into battle based on one scouting mission, ya know?"

Alya shook her head in disagreement. "But it's in _Adrien's_ house, right? He knows everything there is to know about the place, and the longer we wait, the longer Hawkmoth has to harness his power. And the sooner we pin him down, the sooner we can shift focus to Mayura's activity." Alya's hands fell into her lap and she shrugged. "Adrien's right. We have to strike now. The next time there's an akuma, we have to go to him."

Marinette, who'd been relatively silence since they'd met up, suddenly spoke up with a never-before-seen urgency and ferocity. "What if he's got defenses that we don't know about?" Marinette asked. "What if he has something that Adrien couldn't find when he went into the hideout the other night? What if we're throwing ourselves into an absolute death trap? What good are we if we get ourselves killed the first time we try going after him?!"

Adrien reached out, placing a hand on Marinette's shoulder. "Marinette, I promise you, there's nothing in there that even remotely stood out as a defense mechanism aside from the covers on the window. The room was completely empty save for the butterflies. Plagg was with me, too, he would've seen anything I couldn't. And he didn't."

Plagg gave an affirmative nod from where he hovered next to Adrien.

The group exploded into argument, with Adrien and Alya trying to fight their cases while Nino and Marinette tried desperately to get the other two to see reason. Chloe looked back and forth between the four of them, grumbling in annoyance and frustration.

When she'd had enough, Chloe slammed her fists against the ground, the argument stopping immediately.

"We could sit here all night arguing about all the things that could go wrong, which sounds incredibly boring,"

Marinette rolled her eyes, bringing a hand to her forehead. "Chloe, now is not the time!"

Chloe held up a hand. "I'm not finished, Dupain-Cheng. I agree with Adrien and Alya. We have the upper hand, and we have an army of miraculous holders waiting on the side lines. But… I agree with you and Nino as well. There are a lot of unknowns here, and we have to take that into account."

The four of them looked between each other, everyone blushing in embarrassment from their outbursts. Nobody interrupted, so Chloe continued.

"There's always a million reasons to not do something, so what's the point in listening to our own self-doubts when we know that we're capable of doing this?"

The other four miraculous holders in the circle sat in silence, mouths agape. Did Chloe really just… give them all a pep talk? Not only that, she gave them a really _good_ pep talk? A great one even. Chloe scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"So, are we doing this, or are we doing this?"


	20. Chapter 20

With thanks, surprisingly, to _Chloe's_ call to action of all people, the five of them suited up and made their way towards the Agreste mansion. Their hearts pounded in their chests, adrenaline running high.

 _We can do this_ Ladybug thought to herself, swinging across Paris. _We can do this_!

They landed behind the Agreste mansion, Chat Noir keeping eyes on the wall that housed Hawkmoth's lair, and they began to formulate a plan.

"We can't do anything until that window opens," Chat Noir whispered matter-of-factly. "I'm not sure when he'll send an akuma out next, but I imagine it won't take long. Considering how upset he has been as of late, I imagine he'll send an akuma out at the first opportunity. As soon as that window opens, we move. We get inside. We stop Hawkmoth for good."

He and Ladybug exchanged weary glances. "No matter what it takes." Chat Noir said softly, as if he only wanted her to hear it. Ladybug reached out and took Chat Noir's hand in her own, trying to muster a reassuring smile.

"Whatever it takes," she repeated, flashing her signature gaze. The gaze that told Chat Noir that she was truly ready to fight with everything she had in her.

The five of them lay in wait. Seconds passed. Minutes. Maybe even an hour. None of them dared move a muscle. Then, in a flash, it all happened at once. A large mechanical groan came from above them as the roof opened to reveal a large stained-glass window, cut to resemble a butterfly. How fitting. A small, familiar insect-like being flew out from the center of the window, off to akumatize some unsuspecting Parisian citizen.

"On the count of three," Chat Noir whispered, pulling out his baton.

One.

Rena Rouge readied her stance, pulling out her flute and getting ready to call an onslaught of illusions.

Two.

Queen Bee and Ladybug had their spinning top and yoyo at the ready.

 _Three_.

They all pounced in unison. With a theatrical wave of his baton, Chat Noir destroyed the window before rolling into Hawkmoth's lair. Ladybug and Queen Bee were almost immediately at his side, Ladybug swinging her yoyo and Queen Bee brandishing her spinning top, ready to sting. Rena Rouge appeared, surrounded by at least 20 more of herself. Lastly, Carapace, filed in last, preparing to throw up a shield should Hawkmoth strike.

What happened next none of them expected. Before Hawkmoth could say two words to them, all their attention was drawn to another figure entering the room. Their presence was dark. Glaring, pink irises barely hidden behind a fan of peacock feathers. She chuckled softly as she walked into the room, light from outside barely illuminating the deep blue of her skin. Their defenses fell, leaving the 5 heroes and Hawkmoth staring, motionless.

"How kind of you all to bring yourselves to me…" she said thoughtfully, waving the fan gently in front of her face. "It makes all of this a lot easier, don't you think?"

"Who are you?" Hawkmoth demanded. "How did you get a hold of the peacock miraculous? I had it under lock and key."

"Oh Gabriel," she tsked, shaking her head in faux disappointment. "You really are just as helpless as you always have been."

Hawkmoth bristled. "How dare you. Identify yourself!"

Chat Noir moved so he stood alert in front of the rest of his friends, facing the dark figure that stood in front of them. He hated how familiar the voice sounded in his ears. Ladybug, Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee stood just as defensively behind him, ready to fight whichever villain threw the first punch.

"I am not a patient man," Hawkmoth warned. "It would be wise for you to answer me the first time I ask you a question. _Who_ are you and _how_ do you have the peacock miraculous!"

"My name is Mayura," the figure spoke, their voice colder than ice. "But you may recognize me by another name, Gabriel."

Hawkmoth looked visibly shaken. "You've called me that twice now… How… how do you know my name?"

"I know all of your names…" she said threateningly, her eyes grazing over the crowd in front of her. She stopped short in front of Rena Rouge and Carapace. She frowned. "Well. Almost all of you. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the _supporting cast_."

She smirked as she watched Rena Rouge flare in anger, Carapace grabbing her and holding her back.

"I've been watching all of you for a very long time. Gabriel Agreste, my beloved husband. Adrien Agreste, our beloved son. And his little _friends_. Marinette and Chloe of note, of course."

"What do you mean _our_ son," Hawkmoth demanded, completely ignoring the rest of her monologuing. "Tell me who you _are_!"

She responded with nothing but a deep, threatening chuckle. "Duusu… de-transform me"

In a moment, Mayura detransformed to reveal Emilie Agreste. Adrien's beautiful mother who disappeared almost two years ago under mysterious circumstances.

Chat Noir fell to his knees, crestfallen. Finding out his father was evil, while it left him heart broken, it wasn't so far out of his character. He had been ready to fight that battle.

But, his mother? In life she was always his light. She drew out the darkness in his life time and time again. She was always there to support him when his father was being too overbearing. But even then… at the end of the day, both of his parents were loving, caring, supportive.

How had they turned down such a dark path?

He couldn't stop the sobs once they'd started. How was he supposed to fight, and _defeat_ , both of his parents? Ladybug knelt down beside him and wrapped protective arms around him. "I'm so sorry, mon minou," she kept whispering to him. But eventually everything around him faded into nothingness. He was gone. He heard screams escalate around him. He felt the floor shake as his friends ran around him. He felt the louder thuds of bodies as people were pushed off their feet. He thought he heard Ladybug telling him to run. He vaguely felt arms around him, but he couldn't tell who they belonged to.

Chat Noir had entered some sort of dissociative state, and it didn't appear as though he was going to come out of it any time soon. Queen Bee appeared next to Ladybug suddenly, swinging her spinning top violently in front of her to keep the three of them protected.

"The three of us can handle them for now. Take Chat Noir and distribute the rest of the miraculous, there's no time to waste."

Ladybug looked down at the hero laying in her arms. His eyes were open, but his breathing was coming in short breaths and his eyes were unblinking; terrified. She gave an affirmative nod before standing and picking Chat Noir. In a moment they'd left the commotion behind. Once they were outside, she cast her yoyo towards the direction of Master Fu's home. They arrived in record time and Marinette laid Chat Noir down gently against one of the cushions on Master Fu's floor. At the sound of commotion in his living room, Master Fu emerged from one of the back rooms, yawning slightly. He sobered up immediately at the sight of Ladybug and Chat Noir, the both of them looking worse for wear.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice grave.

"We need the miraculous. Hawkmoth and Mayura… Adrien's parents… Adrien is unresponsive right now… Rena Rouge, Carapace, and Queen Bee are fighting… they need help…"

Ladybug was pulled out of her rambling by a firm hand squeezing her shoulder. "Marinette take a deep breath. Detransform, calm down, and tell me what's going on," he said soothingly. He moved towards the old record player and typed in the code, revealing miraculous jewels. He started loading them up; at least he'd picked up that little bit of information. But there was still more she had to tell. She took a deep breath and whispered a gentle "Spots off," revealing her true self. She pulled a cookie out of her purse for Tikki to snack on, so she'd be ready to fight again once they were finished here.

Then, Marinette took another deep breath, and started again. "We've discovered the identities of Hawkmoth and Mayura… They're Adrien's parents… After we found out, Adrien fell into this dissociative state and he won't come out of it no matter what I say to him. I need his help and yours to get these miraculous given out, so we can get back to help our other friends. They're strong, but I don't know how long they can hold off two supervillains on their own. And there's an akuma out somewhere, which makes this all even worse. I can't… I don't know what to do, Master Fu."

Shaking legs finally gave up and Marinette fell to her knees. Her voice cracked as she continued speaking. "I knew I was never cut out for this hero stuff. Fighting akumas is straightforward enough… what do I do now that two of Paris' most respected citizens are… are true villains? With miraculous and real super powers that make them more dangerous than any akuma we've ever fought?"

Master Fu sat down next to Marinette, taking her hands into his own.

"Life is full of challenges, Marinette. Sometimes we have to face things that we never imagined were possible, and it is incredibly difficult to face these challenges that we never wanted to see manifest."

"But," he continued, perking up. "You can find strength in your allies. Even the strongest fears are easily defeated in the face of love and determination. Together, you and your friends are more than capable of destroying this evil that has plagued Paris for so long."

At those words, Chat Noir began to stir next to them. Marinette turned and immediately scooted over so she was sitting next to him.

"Chaton? Can you hear me? Are you okay?"

She rested a gentle hand on his cheek. "Please say something, love. Anything."

He squinted into the dim light of Master Fu's home. "M-Mari?"

She smiled at him and leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead. She leaned back, and he followed her, groaning as he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"I'm alright," he said softly. "I… I'll be alright."

Marinette looked over towards Master Fu, who wore a satisfied smile on his face. He turned and winked at Marinette before returning to packaging up the miraculous. He must have had something to do with Adrien's sudden wakefulness, Marinette thought.

"We have lots of miraculous to deliver," Master Fu began. "But I don't want the two of you running too many deliveries." He boxed the last of the miraculous. "I will go and start delivering these immediately."

Marinette stood up quickly. "Please let us come and help you. We'll be able to distribute them faster that way if it is split up evenly."

Master Fu gave a mysterious smile. "You will rejoin me soon. But I have something special for the both of you to do first."

Marinette and Chat Noir exchanged worried glances. "Are you sure its safe for you to go out and do this on your own, Master Fu?" Marinette asked, voice apprehensive. "You don't have Wayzz right now, what if something happens and we aren't there to help you?"

Master Fu shook his head. "Your concern is appreciated, but I'm certain that this is a task that I can handle on my own."

Marinette's shoulders sank, but deep down she knew that Master Fu was capable, even if he wasn't in the shape he used to be. She whispered a soft command to retransform. "What are these special tasks you need us to do, then?"

Master Fu walked up to them and handed them each a miraculous. Adrien the dragon, and Marinette the snake.

"I think the two of you know who these belong to, and I sense that there are rifts in these relationships you wish to repair."

Ladybug and Adrien exchanged glances. "But they won't know who we are, Master Fu. We'll be in costume," Ladybug insisted.

Adrien nodded his agreement. "Plus… is now really the best time to worry about something like this?"

Master Fu shrugged, chuckling. "Now's as good a time as any, I'd say. And, costumes will make all of this a little bit easier for both parties, don't you think?"

With one last encouraging smile, Master Fu motioned for them to get going. As the two heroes left him, still very obviously confused with these tasks they've been given, he turned and took a deep breath. He hadn't left the house without Wayzz in more years than he cared to count.

But he had work to do.

"Mylene Haprele and Ivan Bruel…" Master Fu began, holding out the mouse and ox miraculous, respectively. "Ladybug and Chat Noir have made their sentiments known. They, and all of Paris need your help to defeat the evil that plagues us once and for all…"

The two looked at him with shock written across their features.

"With the bravery of the mouse and the strength of the ox, do you accept your mission?"

The two exchanged an apprehensive glance, but they nodded excitedly all the same.

"Come with me, we need more of your friends if we are to truly defeat this evil."

"…Juleka Couffaine and Rose Lavillant, with the ferocity of the tiger and the intelligence of the pig, do you accept your mission?"

Juleka and Rose joined Mylene and Ivan, who looked about as confused as they did at this point.

"What's going on?" Rose asked, her voice a low whisper. She received only shrugs in response as they followed the mysterious man to wherever it was they were going to next.

"Alix Kubdel, Nathanael Kurtzberg, and Marc Anciel. With the quick wit of the rabbit, the persistence of the goat, and the bravery of the horse, do you accept your mission?"

The group continued to grow, and they began muttering amongst themselves about what they already knew. Ladybug and Chat Noir were in trouble and requested their help. Nobody had mentioned what a coincidence it was that they were only asking for members from their classroom.

Nobody noticed that Marinette and Adrien were conveniently being kept out of the picture.

"Le Chien Kim, and Max Kante, with the determined spirit of the rooster and the vast intelligence of the monkey, do you accept your mission?"

"Sabrina Raincomprix, with the loyal spirit of the dog, do you accept your mission?"

Chat Noir took a deep breath before he gave a soft knock to Kagami's window. The light flickered inside; he knew it was late, but she was probably still awake if her lights were on. A few moments passed before the nothingness was replaced with Kagami's face. Her eyes lit up when she saw that it was none other than Chat Noir at her window. He tried to swallow the guilt in his throat before he had to speak.

"Kagami Tsurugi," he started, trying not to let his voice crack. "Time and time again you've shown your strength, your ferocity, your bravery, and your compassion for others."

Kagami blushed. "Those are very kind words, Chat Noir. Thank you."

Her blush was immediately wiped away, replaced with pure shock as Chat Noir held out a small box.

"This is the miraculous jewel of the Dragon. Will you please help me, Ladybug, and all our friends in defeating the evil that has continued to plague Paris?"

Kagami gave an affirmative smirk, grabbing the box from Chat Noir's hands. "I accept! I hope Hawkmoth has some fencing knowledge. Otherwise, this is going to be a really unfair fight."

Chat Noir chuckled and offered Kagami his arm. She took it and together they vaulted towards the rendezvous point.

Luka sat on his bed, absentmindedly plucking strings on his guitar. He heard a knock on his door, almost too soft to be heard. But with his sister spending the night at her girlfriend's house, and his mother out of town, the house was silent save for the noise he made. He turned and looked at the clock on his nightstand.

It was nearing midnight.

Who on Earth was here?

He walked down the stairs and opened the door, taken aback by who stood outside.

"… Marinette?"

Marinette smiled at him sheepishly, rubbing the back of her neck. She knew that Tikki was right by telling her to do it this way. To meet him as Marinette and really, _truly_ apologize to him.

"I have to talk to you about something, Luka," she said softly. "It's important."

Luka, who appeared to not know what exactly he was getting himself into, moved aside and let Marinette come in. She sat down gently on the couch in their living room, and Luka sat down across from her, eyeing her with an expression that Marinette couldn't quite place. Was it sadness? Confusion? Worry? She couldn't tell.

Marinette sighed. "I hate not being able to talk to you," she said softly. She looked up at Luka, but he was staring down at his hands, twiddling his thumbs. "But," she continued. "This isn't why I'm here right now. It's something more important than my own messes that I still need to fix."

She stood up suddenly, dragging Luka's attention away from his hands. She pulled the small box out of her purse and held it out to him.

"Luka, what I'm about to share with you is absolutely top secret. It can't leave this house. Can you promise me this?"

Luka looked at the box thoughtfully for a moment. "Of course I can."

Marinette continued. "This is the miraculous of the snake. I'm coming to you because we—I desperately need your help. Chat Noir and I, as Ladybug, have been fighting Hawkmoth for years now, and his strength is unlike anything it's been before. He's only getting stronger now that there's a new villain on the scene, and… I'm asking you to take this miraculous and join us in the fight to save Paris from this evil."

Luka's jaw was agape as he stared at Marinette. She somewhat expected this, considering she just admitted she's one of Paris' most beloved super heroes like it was the most nonchalant truth in the world. Without thinking, or giving Luka time to respond to her confession, Marinette put the box down on the table and reached out to grab Luka's hands. She held them, trying to will her own hands to stop shaking so violently.

"I… I'm so sorry for what happened between us, Luka. You were always such a dear friend to me, and I'm sorry that my own feelings did so many harmful things to you. I… I never meant to hurt you. And I'm sorry that after all of that I'm still coming to you and begging for help, like I deserve it…"

Luka stood up and pulled Marinette's shaking form into a tight hug. Shocked, it was the least Marinette could do to bring her arms around him, returning the embrace. She felt tears burning in her eyes at the gesture. Luka… didn't hate her.

"I've long since forgiven you, Marinette. I never meant to give the impression that our friendship had ended. I just needed… a break. But you seemed so busy and stressed all the time, I figured you still needed space. I'm sorry I didn't reach out to you sooner."

Marinette sobbed into the embrace, hugging Luka tighter. "You're such a good soul, Luka. I couldn't ask for a more caring friend." They pulled apart, Luka smiling down at her.

"And, of course, I'll help you defeat this evil. They've put you and the others I care about in harm's way too many times. I'd love to be a part of the process of bringing them down once and for all."

Luka picked up the box and put on his miraculous, smiling the whole time. He transformed into the snake-themed superhero and offered his arm to Marinette.

"Shall we?"

Marinette grinned from ear to ear before transforming herself and taking Luka's arm.

After a long, winding walk through Paris filled with silence and the unknown, the mysterious man finally stopped and turned around. He regarded them all with a serious expression, and then he began to speak. Despite his stature and the gentleness of his voice, he still commanded absolute attention.

"Ladybug and Chat Noir have been fighting an ongoing battle for years now, as I'm sure many of you are familiar with. The treacherous onslaught of akumas from the dreaded Hawkmoth has only been increasing in severity as time passes. It is now that Ladybug and Chat Noir have realized that they need the help of their dearest friends."

The group murmured excitedly at the prospect of being considered friends of the two bravest heroes Paris had ever seen.

"This is where you all come in," the man continued. "Ladybug and Chat Noir have watched you all in their civilian forms. They've watched your characters grow, and they've watched you all mold and grow into better versions of yourselves."

He took a breath, and the entire group was silent.

"They've put their hearts and souls into trusting that you'll be there when they need you most. Simply place your jewels and your kwamis will tell you everything you need to know to help defeat this evil."

With that, the man turned and walked away. Ladybug and Chat Noir landed where he'd stood moments ago, joined by two other mysterious miraculous holders they'd never seen before.

"Alright," Chat Noir started. "Now _this_ is an unstoppable army."

Ladybug turned to them, beaming. "I knew we made the right choice. I already feel so much more at ease knowing that I can count on each and every one of you. I know that we are heading into a dangerous situation, but I also know that you are all so brave, and working together, I also know that we are truly, as Chat Noir said, _unstoppable_!"

With their friends behind them, shouting their own battle cries, Ladybug and Chat Noir exchanged smirks as they turned and lead the way back towards the Agreste mansion.

 _We're strong._

Wind whipped through her hair as Ladybug threw her yoyo up and swung through Paris, whipping around to make sure that her friends were still behind her. She called out tips and tricks to miraculous holders that had similar modes of transportation to her own.

 _We're fierce_.

Chat Noir vaulted himself across Paris, watching as his friends worked through their own miraculous powers, helping where he could with words of encouragement.

 _We're unstoppable_!


	21. Chapter 21

With a surprising silence for a gathering of their entire class, they landed at the gate of the Agreste mansion. The air outside was still and calm. Much too peaceful considering the people they left here.

"They might not be here anymore," Chat Noir whispered, only loud enough for Ladybug to his left and Queen Bee to his right to hear him.

"What should we do?" Queen Bee asked, swinging her top around to her side.

Chat Noir turned to the group, clearing his throat. "Ladybug and I are going to head inside and scope out the scene, because they might not be here anymore. If we need you, we'll send a signal to Queen Bee. Until then, stay silent and stay out of view of that dome up there," he directed, gesturing towards the dome that housed Hawkmoth's lair.

He gave a thumbs up and was met with a sea of them in return before he and Ladybug turned around, jumped the gate, and disappeared into the mansion. They were greeted with the same unsettling silence that was outside when they walked in. They cautiously approached Gabriel Agreste's study. Furniture was overturned, paintings were torn and hanging lopsided on the wall. Adrien's gaze was locked on the mutilated portrait of his mother on the wall. He felt nausea bubble up in his throat and felt his knees go weak. The two people he looked up to most in the world had so suddenly betrayed him in what must have been the worst way. Ladybug gripped his shoulder and gave him a small shake.

"It's okay, kitty. You're going to get them back, okay? They are your parents. They still love you. I know they do."

Chat Noir wasn't sure how or why Ladybug was so sure of that. But he shook his head to clear it of all those intrusive thoughts.

"Alright, milady. Let's keep moving."

They wandered over towards the portrait and Chat Noir pushed away some of the tattered fabric. He found the buttons and pressed the code, prompting the lift to take them back to Hawkmoth's lair. Just as he suspected, it was completely empty. There were clear signs of struggle; tattered bits of costume left here and there, and the glass dome was cracked in several places. There wasn't a single butterfly left in the room.

"Damn… I should have stayed. Where could they have gone?"

Ladybug approached the open window and peered outside to see if she could spot anything unusual. Her attention was brought to the Eiffel Tower, where a large plume of white slowly darkened to black.

"Akumas!" she shouted, before swinging her yoyo out the window and swinging back down to where all their friends were waiting. Chat Noir was quick at her heels, vaulting past her to take the lead ahead of the rest of them.

"They're at the Eiffel Tower! Come on!" she shouted, turning around and heading off towards battle.

Tears dried as quickly as they fell against Chat Noir's face. He wasn't sure how his body was still moving; he wasn't in control. At least, he didn't feel like he was in control. He knew what he had to do but he had absolutely no will to do any of it.

 _How am I supposed to fight my_ parents _?_ he thought to himself. _How am I supposed to do any of this?_

But he never stopped. His brain screamed at him to stop, to take a breath, to please, for the love of God, _think_!

 _No time for thinking, only action_.

He flew through the cloud of akumas and landed with a thud at the platform below the curve of the tower's base. He saw his parents stood at attention, hands held up at the ready. He thought his heart had already broken enough, but this proved otherwise.

"What happened to you two?" he asked, mostly to himself. But they heard him. They stood there, the three of them, none of them daring to make the first move.

"Do you know who I am, Hawkmoth? She already knows who I am. Do you?"

Hawkmoth's scrutinizing gaze thinned as he regarded the hero in front of him.

"I don't understand why you'd hide this from me, son. I could have seriously hurt you."

"You don't care about that!" Chat Noir cried, his resolve breaking down. He clenched his fists tighter and pulled them up higher. "You never cared about any of that! You never cared about me or mom… you just wanted power. You wanted to be on top of everything."

He took a step forward, pulling his baton from his back and holding it in front of him. "Are you happy now? Is this everything you've ever wanted?!"

In a moment Hawkmoth was pinned to the concrete below him, Chat Noir pushing the heel of his foot into his chest. "Tell me! Are you happy now, father?!"

Hawkmoth wheezed against the pressure on his chest. "Adrien, son… you wouldn't understand…"

Chat Noir scoffed, extending the baton so it struck the ground threateningly next to Hawkmoth's head. "You're right. I'll never understand how you let your own selfish needs come before your family. I could never understand how a heart gets so darkened like that."

Without warning, Mayura was upon them and she had them both on the ground. She ripped Chat Noir's baton from his grip and used it to pin him down while pinning Hawkmoth down the same way Chat Noir had done.

"As much as I don't want to interrupt the family drama, I have to take care of you two. Don't need you getting in the way of my _plans_."

Chat Noir struggled, but his baton dug into his chest, most certainly cracking a rib or two. He cried out in pain and went limp against the restraint.

He looked around to see several of his friends already down for the count. They must have flown in to try to hold Mayura back while he was distracted. Kim, Max, Alix, Nathanael… they were all huddled behind a column, holding each other in an attempt to comfort the others. They were clearly severely injured.

He closed his eyes and willed the tears to stay where they were.

 _All my fault…_

He hadn't seen Ladybug or any of the other main five. He didn't see any of his other friends. He didn't hear anything aside from his own jagged breathing. He hoped wherever everyone else was, they were safe.

"I've been watching over this city… it holds so much potential," Mayura started, her voice so cold. So unlike what Chat Noir remembered. "So many people feel so many negative feelings. Surprising, considering how much we as a society condemn those emotions… oh, the things we could _do_ with them!"

"What do you want, Mayura?" Hawkmoth cried out, struggling against his own restraint. "My miraculous? Adrien's?"

"Oh, perhaps," Mayura said thoughtfully. "But those are just stepping stones, not end goals. The end goal… extinction."

She gestured to the cloud of akumas that hadn't stopped circling around the platform where they stood.

"These lovely akumas that your father so kindly let me borrow are going to come very much in handy. I never knew there was so much to be _done_ with the manipulation of negative emotions. I won't have to lift a finger as I watch all of Paris wipe themselves out."

She let out a deep chuckle, absolutely venomous.

"Then… the whole world."

Chat Noir's blood ran cold. This woman was speaking with his mother's voice and she had his mother's face… but it wasn't her. It couldn't be.

"Plagg, claws in," Chat Noir whispered. He detransformed into Adrien in front of his parents. Mayura seemed unphased. But he heard Hawkmoth's breath catch next to him. He'd known, but perhaps a small part of him didn't want to believe that he'd been trying to hurt, or perhaps even kill his one and only son.

With his costume, his baton disappeared, and he was freed from his mother's grip. He slowly stood up, clutching his chest. His ribs screamed in pain, but he tried not to let it show in his face. He looked up at Mayura, boring holes into her being the same way she'd done to him.

"Mom… this isn't you. You know it isn't. Don't you remember? All the things we'd do when I was younger. Before you disappeared…"

She hissed, using Adrien's pain to manifest a creature to attack him.

"Deal with him. Take the miraculous when you're finished."

"Mom!" Adrien cried, but it was too late. He was unable to move fast enough with the amount of pain he was in, and before he knew it he'd been cast off the edge of the Eiffel Tower. Defenseless.

"No!" Hawkmoth cried, trying desperately to pull himself from Mayura's grip to grab his son. It was no use. He watched in horror as Adrien's nearly limp body disappeared from sight, nothing to keep him from hitting the ground.

Just before he hit the ground, Ladybug swooped in, grabbing him and holding him tight as she swung back around to a platform somewhere above where Mayura and Hawkmoth were. She gently laid Adrien down, who still clenched his ribs.

"Chaton, what happened?" she asked, concern written across her face. "What did they do to you?"

Adrien sucked in a breath. "They… haven't really done anything. I don't know what they're waiting for."

Just then, the entire city shook with a power that felt all too familiar to Adrien and Ladybug.

"Cataclysm?" she asked quietly. Adrien checked his shirt pocket. Plagg was nowhere to be found.

Their group of friends quickly fled from the Eiffel Tower. Rena Rouge and Carapace found Kim, Max, Alix, and Nathanael and helped guide them to safety. Ladybug grabbed Adrien once more and swung after them so they could regroup while Plagg did… whatever he was doing.

"We can't attack them one at a time… We really need _all_ of us to defeat them. Those akumas are acting as a barrier right now while Mayura is taking care of Hawkmoth… if we can take down that barrier, she won't be as strong as she is now. It'll be easier for us to take the both of them out."

Ladybug turned to her four injured friends. She kneeled down and reached out a hand.

"How are you four holding up? Do we need to take you to the emergency room?"

Nathanael shook his head. "No, you need us. We'll be fine."

The other three nodded in agreement. Marinette turned to where Adrien sat a few feet away from them, Rena Rouge and Queen Bee at his side. He gave a small thumbs up and his signature Agreste smile. They looked worse for wear, but their brave faces never faltered. Ladybug smiled and together she and Chat Noir helped the four of them to their feet.

"So, there's something we can do. We can combine all our miraculous together to cast some sort of spell, I suppose."

Ladybug waved her hands about and paced in front of her friends as they all listened attentively to the plan. "That's supposed to cleanse all of the akumas and dispel all traces of bad magic around us. That should leave Mayura and Hawkmoth powerless enough to take their miraculous from them."

She stopped pacing and turned to look at the people beside her.

They were bruised.

Scratched.

Bloody.

But she'd never seen a group of people so ready to take on the world in her life. She felt her own bruises and scrapes ache on her body. But she put that pain aside so all that she could feel was the determination all of her friends were putting out. For her.

"Are we ready?" She asked, throwing a fist in the air. She was met with cries of affirmation. She turned to Adrien, who gave a nod and transformed back into Chat Noir. Then, they all turned and set out towards the Eiffel Tower one more time. They landed on the ground, staring up at the cloud of akumas above them.

Ladybug began chanting the ancient Chinese cleansing spell. A small splash of light began to form in her hands. And then in everyone's hands. Ladybug lifted her hands up towards the sky, and the rest of her friends followed. She turned to the boy next to her, who despite all of his pain and suffering met her with the brightest smile. She felt tears pool in her eyes as she continued to recite the spell.

Upon completion, a deafening silence fell upon what felt like all of Paris. The light continued to grow around them until it suddenly burst into a full-on explosion. Paris was bathed in a cleansing light that was tons bigger than anything Ladybug could have ever created herself.

The black cloud that hung over the Eiffel Tower was completely erased and left innocent white butterflies fluttering away in its wake. Ladybug cast out her yoyo without thinking, and leapt up to the platform where they'd left Mayura and Hawkmoth. The two of them lay nearly unconscious on the ground, their figures frail. Mayura coughed as she tried desperately to push herself up to greet the onslaught of heroes. But she ultimately failed, her arms giving out under her.

The spell had been more powerful than Ladybug had anticipated. She turned to Chat Noir and immediately knew why. His face read nothing but pain and anger.

He wanted to feel something else upon seeing his parents laying there motionless. Sadness, desperation… hope? But they'd betrayed him… that was all he could feel.

He approached Mayura first, ripping the broach from her costume. Ladybug walked towards Hawkmoth and did the same. Their costumes faded away, leaving behind a weakened Gabriel and Emilie Agreste.

The heroes carried the Agrestes down to the ground and they were met with a waiting Master Fu at the bottom. He beamed at the group of heroes in front of him.

"My expectations for you all were already incredibly high, and yet you've still surpassed them. Paris will be forever grateful to their saviors," he said, his voice soft, yet full of authority.

Ladybug and Chat Noir turned to each other and nodded before detransforming. They handed over their miraculous jewels to Master Fu. They turned to their classmates who stared on in disbelief. Adrien had been revealed briefly, but seeing the two of them stand in front of them as… as heroes. That was…

Well, it explained a lot for starters.

"I can't believe you guys have been superheroes this _whole time_ Nathanael said as he detransformed himself. He gave Marinette a playful shove. "I can't believe you wouldn't tell me this."

Marinette laughed. "What, because you can keep a secret?"

Nathanael stuck his tongue out before turning to give his miraculous jewel back to Master Fu. Slowly but surely, all of their classmates did the same and they stood talking for several minutes, and probably could have stayed there for the next several days if they had the option.

Luka was one of the last to return his miraculous. He stopped in front of Marinette, giving her a gentle smile.

"I'm glad you're both alright," he said, regarding her and Adrien.

Without responding, Marinette pulled Luka into a hug.

"If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have been able to save Adrien in time. Thank you, Luka. Thank you for everything you've always done for me."

Luka returned the hug, resting his chin on Marinette's head. "Anytime you need me I'll be here. The same goes for all of us."

He gestured to the group behind him who stood watching the scene unfold. They all nodded in agreement.

"You're always there to help us when we need you," Max said matter-of-factly. "So, of course we're always here for you two."

Before anyone could say anything else, Master Fu cleared his throat.

"Unfortunately, I must interrupt for a moment. I must cast a very important spell."

Everyone stopped talking and turned their full attention to Master Fu.

"The spell I'm about to cast is very powerful. It will restore any damages done to Paris and its citizens, including yourselves."

Ladybug sighed in relief. She knew some of her friends sustained some serious injuries, so she was glad they wouldn't be in pain much longer.

"It is also going to provide a sort of memory cleanse. All memories of Hawkmoth and Mayura's identities will be removed, but their legacy will remain as a reminder of what happens if power gets into the wrong hands."

His face fell as he regarded the group of children in front of him. They were after all, still children. They weren't ready for this responsibility that came with knowing each other's identities.

"Similarly, your identities will be removed from your respective miraculous as well. You won't remember who was who, but unfortunately, this is for your own safety. It is what is best."

He gave a sad smile. "But you will remember your own role in the saving of Paris, and your legacy will live on."

Everyone mumbled softly under their breaths, but they nodded. Without further discussion, Master Fu muttered something under his breath in Chinese. As he did, a sudden flash engulfed everything around them, shrouding everyone in a bright light.

When the glare subsided, they were all left standing there slightly dazed. Emilie and Gabriel Agreste stirred slightly as well. Master Fu approached Adrien and Marinette.

"I'll be taking these two back to my home across town," he said, gesturing towards Adrien's parents. "Meet me there at your earliest convenience."

Marinette and Adrien nodded before turning back to their friends. They could remember who they'd been and what they'd done, but they'll never know the full story. It seemed only Marinette and Adrien retained the full story about what had happened that day.

…

But why?


End file.
